Emerald Quest
by Lady C Andrews
Summary: New friends, new foes, new adventures. Can Knuckles and Rouge survive this epic adventure with the help of their new friend, Tarosamo? Now Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Declaimer: I do not own Rouge, or Knuckles, or any other Sonic related characters. But I do however own Slice and the gang and Sameo and Tarosamo, and whoever else appears here that are not related to SEGA!  
  
Author Notes: Hey, I hope everyone enjoy this! It started out as something funny, I had to change the titled which originally was "Bat Attractions" to "Emerald Adventure" to "Emerald Quest". It was called "Bat Attractions" at first because, well, bats were attracted to a certain red echidna. Read the fist part and you'll understand. Anyway, than, well, something happened and it turn into a quest. Gosh, I tried to do a humor fic and it turn into a romance fic. My life sucks. -_- Please, Review!  
  
Also, I started this story before "A Valentine's Special", and everyone seems to like that! I'm so happy! ^____________^ So, I decided to continue with this one, in which I had stop. I like it too, not as good, but much longer, and with adventure! Like I said before, ENJOY!  
  
Oh, yeah, one more thing, this was gonna be just ONE story, but well, it's too long, so I just had to break it off in chapters! Well, NOW you can ENJOY!  
  
Chapter 1/??  
  
Emerald Quest  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Knuckles eyes slowly open. The sun was beginning to rise from the horizon. Once Knuckles eyes were fully open and adjusted, something flew in front of him, causing him to scream out. He fell out of his bed and onto the hard wooden floor. He slowly got up and rubbed his sore head. 'What was that?' He wondered to himself.  
  
"Oh! You poor dear...did I startle you?" A feminine seductive voice came from behind.  
  
Knuckles swirl around to come face to face with yellow eyes. "AH! Who are you?"  
  
Standing in front of him, actually, floating in front of him was a...bat. A white bat. The bat giggle, covering her face. "Aren't you cute! My name is Slice. My dear, dear sister Rouge has told me a lot about you, Mister Echidna!"  
  
Knuckles blink. 'Rouge? Sister? Slice??' Knuckles cough. "Why are you here?" He demanded.  
  
Slice giggled once more. "Oh, silly echidna! Isn't it obvious?"  
  
"Uh...no." The red echidna admitted confused.  
  
The bat grin. "I'm here for...YOU!"  
  
Knuckles eyes grew wide. "What?? Me?!"  
  
"Hehehe! Yep! YOU!" She grins, showing off her fine, sharp, white teeth.  
  
Knuckles was getting a pretty uneasy feeling by now. He slowly begins to back away from the obviously insane bat. Knuckles continue to back up until his back was up against something. Something soft...and warm...Knuckles hands felt behind him, tracing something long and smooth. His hand than grab onto a soft round object and he gulp. He cautiously lifts his head up to see a large female bat grinning down at him. He hurriedly got away.  
  
"Ooo! Naughty little echidna! He's handsome." She giggled. The heavy set bat hug herself as she wink at Knuckles. All color drain from his face.  
  
"What is going on here?!" He was beginning to get frighten, as if he wasn't already.  
  
Slice flew in front of him, with a huge grin still on her face. "Don't worry, cutie, that there is Betsy. She won't bite...much."  
  
Knuckles gulp again. 'What have I done to deserve this?'  
  
And just when you thought it couldn't get any worst, it got worst, because just at that moment, four other female bats came swooping in. Knuckles eyes couldn't get any bigger.  
  
Slice smile. "Ah, and these lovely ladies are Daisy, Maisy, Panada, and Orange. Say hello girls!"  
  
Each of the girls giggle as they ran over to the now VERY frighten echidna.  
  
'What in the name of the Master Emerald is going on here?!' He thought as the girls came closer. 'What attract these bats to me?? What am I? A bat attraction??'  
  
Just than, five more female bats came into the picture: Safari, Ditzy, Ritzy, October, and November.  
  
Knuckles now just wanted to pull out his dreadlocks. Now he has eleven female bats in his home. "Why me?? WHY??" He yelled to the heavens above with his hands stretch out in an over dramatic fashion.  
  
Than, he heard a familiar laugh above him. He turn to the voice and almost fainted. Right there, right now, was the only bat he knew. Rouge! Rouge was floating in the air over Knuckles, she had her arms cross over her chest and a huge grin on her face.  
  
Rouge grin at the corner echidna. "Wow, Knux, looks like you've done it this time! Now this is very interesting. The all powerful treasure hunter and guardian of the Master Emerald is cornered by a bunch of female bats!"  
  
Slice glared at Rouge. "Rouge..." She hissed.  
  
"Nice to see you too, sis. How are things?" Rouge floated down next to Knuckles.  
  
Slice kept her eyes narrowed on her sister. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Rouge just shrug. "Maybe the same reason as you, maybe not. You'll just never know." Rouge remark.  
  
Knuckles prayed to the gods above that Rouge was going to save him from these psycho bats.  
  
"The echidna is ours, Rouge. Not yours. You left the clan six years ago. You are no longer needed here."  
  
Rouge only smile. "Yeah, I know. And you know what else? Since I left the clan, life has been a treat! All the beautiful jewels, gems, and emeralds I find every single day, the beach houses, the FREEDOM, it's great!"  
  
Slice growled.  
  
"That's not very lady-like, sis." Rouge mock.  
  
Betsy stepped forward. "Me take care of Rouge."  
  
Rouge sweat-drop. "Ehehe...no need for violence, Betsy..." Betsy took a few more steps closer to Rouge. "You know what? That's my cue to leave!" With that, Rouge hurried to the exit of the small house, than remember she was forgetting something and ran back to grab Knuckles than zoom out.  
  
Slice face turn blood red as her blood started to boil. "ROUGE!!!!!!!!!!" Her powerful voice echo throughout the whole world, shattering at least fifty thousands windows and other countless things.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Rouge and Knuckles landed on a small island in the middle of Nowhere. No, for real, that's the name of the island. "Nowhere Island". No, not the "nowhere" where Courage the Cowardly Dog lives...Anyway...  
  
Knuckles plop down on the soft white sand. He chances a glance at Rouge. "Uh, thanks, for, uh...getting me out back there."  
  
Rouge grin. 'Well, I guess that's a start. I mean, come on! Knuckles thanking someone?? Please! That's unheard of!' "No problem, Echidna. After all, you did save me from falling into the lava pit back with the ARK incident."  
  
Knuckles grinned as he placed his hands behind his head and stared up into the soft blue sky, "Guess we're even than."  
  
"Guess so. So, uh, why are we here?" Rouge asked, looking around the small island.  
  
Knuckles got up from his laying position to also have a look around. "I dunno, I was following you."  
  
Rouge raised an eyebrow. "But I was following YOU."  
  
Knuckles shrugged. "Oh well...this is what I get for following a bat..."  
  
Rouge 'hmhp' and stuck her tongue out at the red echidna.  
  
Knuckles grin. "So, mind telling me the story behind the female bats back there?"  
  
Rouge eyes narrowed. "Fine. I guess I should. I owe you that much." She said, her tone emotionless. "Well, as you should know by now, Slice was, is, my sister. Gosh! How I hate her!" She took a deep breath. "Well...it all started..." Suddenly, everything faded, signaling a flashback as Knuckles looked around wondering where all the fog has come from. 'Weird...'  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Twelve years ago  
  
Five-year-old Rouge laughs happily as she painted something. She got up and ran to her mother, a white bat with rose color checks and eyes. "Mama! Mama! Lookie what I drew!" She showed her the picture of a green emerald.  
  
Her mother looked at the picture and smile. "It's pretty. Think you can steal one?"  
  
Slice, who was eight years old at the time, strolled into the room with headphones on her head. She looked at the picture Rouge had and laughs. Taking off her headphones, she turns to Rouge. "What's that? Come on, Rougie-kins, you are never going to become a treasure hunter like us!"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Seven years ago  
  
Ten-year-old Rouge sat lounging on the beach. It has been a very uneventful treasure hunt once more. She could still hear her sister Slice and the rest laughing at her. A silent tear rolled down her face. She angrily wiped it away. She'll show them, she'll show them all! She will become the best treasure hunter that anyone has ever laid eyes on! And whoever stands in her way will perish!  
  
She got up with determination in her eyes. Yes, she shall show them—oof! And with that, she found herself face first in the sand as her foot got tangle in...the sand.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Six years ago  
  
Rouge hurriedly packed her things. She'll be glad once she leaves this dreadful place. No more Slice tormenting her, no more being made fun of, no more failing, just freedom. Freedom was all Rouge wanted. Once she finished packing she jumped out of the window to the ground below.  
  
"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here, trying to sneak away Rougie- kins?" Rouge flinch as that voice hit her ears and at being called 'Rougie- kins'.  
  
The eleven-year-old Rouge turns to her elder sister. "Yes, I was hoping for some peace from you, Slice. But obvious that's not coming fast enough."  
  
Slice smirk, "Got that right, chick. I own you, Rougie-kins. Or have you forgotten that your mother sign the contract for you? I own you since birth!" Sliced held out a piece of paper than putting it away,  
  
Rouge sweat drop, "Slice, you are only three years older than me..."  
  
"Shut up, you can't leave. Not while I'm still standing. Got to get through me and the girls if you want your so call freedom."  
  
Rouge sign, than grin, "Well, that can be arrange." The ten girls charge at Rouge as she did a round house kick on them, knocking them all unconscious. "Too easy, piece of cake!" (Sonic: Hey! That's one of MY lines!)  
  
Slice growl, "Oh, you think you're tough, now do you? I'll show you tough! After this, you'll be begging for your worthless pathetic life!" She charged with full force at the other white bat that will someday be famous. She jumped in the air with her foot extended to deliver a kick to Rouge.  
  
Rouge dodge the kick causing Slice to make a hole in the ground and getting her foot stuck. "Oh, I'll get you for this, Rouge!" Slice scream trying to free her foot.  
  
Rouge smirk, "Well, you gotta catch me first, hasta la vista, baby!" With that, she grab her bags and ran from Slice, and her once tormented home, never to look back again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
End Flashback  
  
"And, well, that's how it all begin." Rouge finished looking at Knuckles who have fallen asleep sitting Indian style on the sand with a big bubble forming out of his nose and little 'z's around his head. Rouge sweat drop. "KNUCKLES!"  
  
Knuckles fell over, "Wha! I'm up, I'm up!"  
  
The bat sigh. "Knuckles, did you listen to ANY of my story?"  
  
The red echidna thought for a moment, "Uh, yeah, yeah. I heard the part about that Rougie-kins thing. Hehehe...Rougie-kins."  
  
Rouge narrowed her eyes, "Whatever. Anyway, what are you going to do about the Master Emerald?"  
  
Knuckles grin, "Oh? The Master Emerald?" He reached behind his back and pulled out the shinning green emerald, "Never leave home without it!" He said with a cute adorable grin while holding out the emerald.  
  
'He's too cute for his own good...' Rouge thought with a blush than frown, 'Not good...' She said out loud, "So, now what? I mean, with your island being invested with...bats."  
  
Knuckles thought for a moment than shrug, "Well, I needed a vacation anyway. Why not now? Yeah, a vacation with my favorite bat." He chuckle at his last comment, not knowing that it made Rouge feel all funny inside.  
  
'What is this feeling I'm feeling? It's all warm and...mushy...' She thought while glancing at Knuckles who was shinning the emerald with his arm.  
  
Than all of a sudden, a gush of wind blew pass them, "Ha, thought you could get away from us, Rougie-kins? Think again, bat-girl!" Came that dreaded voice, that evil voice, that voice that always makes Rouge cling, SLICE'S voice.  
  
Rouge sigh, "What do you want with this Knucklehead, anyway?"  
  
"I would appreciate it if you would not call me that." Knuckles said, annoyed with that little nickname. -_-  
  
They ignored him; Slice was floating down to stand in front of them with her ten bat pals. "Oh, well, I just wanna see that cute wittle emerald and that adorable echidna, is all. I'll give 'em back...or maybe not."  
  
Knuckles held the emerald behind him, "There is no way you are getting MY EMERALD! Or ME!"  
  
Slice smiled seductively at him, causing him to gulp. "Oh, is that so?"  
  
Rouge shook her head, "Back off, SISTA! This echidna is mine!" 'Uh, that didn't come out the way I intended it to...' She sweat drop.  
  
Slice smile faded, "YOUR echidna?" A long pause...than..."Hahahahahaha! I can't believe this! This is too good! Rougie-kins? IN LOVE??? HAHAHAHA!" Slice along with the other female bats minus Rouge fell to the ground laughing.  
  
Both Rouge and Knuckles were pretty much embarrassed by now. Rouge narrowed her eyes, "Hey! Quit it! I didn't mean it like that! I don't love him! He's a smelling ole' echidna who sits around all day watching a stupid rock!" She yelled in one breath, the laughing ceasing.  
  
Knuckles wasn't too happy though, and he felt, kinda...hurt. "It's not some stupid rock, you know! And I don't sit around all day!" He yelled at her, his anger rising.  
  
"Oh, really? Than what else do you do, echidna? From what I see, the only thing you ever do IS sit around all day watching that god-forsaken emerald!" For some odd reason, Rouge was really starting to burn up.  
  
"Oh, yeah? Look, bat-girl, that "god-forsaken emerald" holds the power to OUR future! Given in the wrong hands, this emerald could destroy this whole world! It is my duty to protect it from thieves like YOU!"  
  
"Thieves like me? And what is that suppose to mean, pray tell." Rouge cross her arms.  
  
Knuckles paused, "Well, uh..." He shut up right there.  
  
"Thought so."  
  
Suddenly laughter started up again, "Hahaha! You two kill me! Y'all even fight like an old married couple!"  
  
Both turn and growl at Slice who only smirk. She held up the Master Emerald, causing both Rouge and Knuckles eyes to widen in shock, "Heh, while you two were having your lovers quarrel, I snatch up the emerald, being the graceful treasure hunter I am."  
  
"WHAT!" Knuckles and Rouge said in unison, they turn to one another and pointed a finger, "This is all YOUR fault!"  
  
Rouge placed a hand on her chest, "My fault? If you were doing your duty, this wouldn't have happen!"  
  
"If you weren't complaining about my guardianship, I would've have to worry about this!" He countered.  
  
Slice tsk, "You two, well, toddles! Gotta run!" She blew a kiss at them than turn to fly off.  
  
"Not so fast, bat-girl number two!" Knuckles charge up and did an uppercut, hitting the emerald, smashing it into pieces.  
  
Slice screamed out, "AAAHHH!! Whaddaya do that for?!"  
  
Knuckles growl, "I really hate when I have to do that, and I did that to stop you from taking the Master Emerald." He sigh, "Now I have to search everywhere for the pieces...again."  
  
Slice grin, "Oh? Well this is gonna be fun! An actual treasure hunt. Buh- bye! I got places to go, emerald shards to find, and treasures to win!" With that, Slice flew off into the unknown with her bat pals following.  
  
Rouge came up next to Knuckles, "Nice move, Knucklehead!" She frowned at him.  
  
He sigh as he looked at her, "Guess we should start looking, huh?"  
  
Rouge stopped, did he just said we? "We? As in you and I?"  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Yeah, we. Two heads are better than one, and plus, you know your sister. I'm sure you could be some kind of help."  
  
Rouge 'humph', "Whatever, lets just go, okay? We need to get those shards before Slice does, and she also has that radar thingy that signals when you are near an emerald piece."  
  
Knuckles nodded, "Right, c'mon." He started running than stop.  
  
Rouge ran next to him, "What's wrong, Knuckles?"  
  
He looked around for a moment, "Uh...where do we start? This is a fairly large planet and the emerald pieces could be anywhere! It usually breaks off into ten pieces, so that means we have to search at least ten parts of the world. Man, this is gonna take forever! Especially with your sister and her minions trying to get them as well." He sighed.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's just pick a random part of the world and just travel there!" Rouge said pulling out the world map from nowhere. "Hmm...hey, I bet one landed in Paris somewhere! It could be a semi-vacation! Let's go, Knucklehead!" Rouge ran off into the direction of Paris, France.  
  
The red echidna sigh, "Why in the world Paris? Isn't Paris the city of...love?" O.o He shrug it off and ran after Rouge, into the jungle on the large forgotten island.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Review! Thanks! Good reviews! No flames, please...this story really takes a turn...you'll see...^_^ 


	2. Chapter 2

Declaimer: READ CHAPTER ONE  
  
Chapter 2/??  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Elsewhere  
  
Slice flew over Paris with her bat minions, uh, yeah. She stopped in midair; causing Betsy to hurry to a halt which caused the other bats to run into her, why they were flying in a line is beyond me.  
  
She turn to the group, "Okay, gurls, Paris is a large place, so we need to split up if we want to find this emerald shard before Rouge and that cute little echidna, got it?"  
  
"YES MA'AM!" They saluted.  
  
"Move out!" They all saluted again and split up, searching different parts of the city.  
  
One of the bats stopped in thought, it was a pink bat, Daisy. She thought, 'How in the world did we get to Paris so fast?' She shrugged it off and headed to her part of the city.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Somewhere in a forest  
  
"Rouge! Rouge! Where are you?" Knuckles shouted as he looked for his bat companion who somehow disappeared. "Where on Earth did she go?" He thought more to himself.  
  
"Knuckles!" Someone yelled in the distance. Knuckles turn towards the voice to see a blue blur coming at him.  
  
"Sonic?" He asked in question as Sonic came into view and stood in front of him panting.  
  
"Knuckles...*pant*....so...glad...*pant*...that I...*pant*....ran into you!" The blue hedgehog said trying to catch his breath.  
  
"Whoa, Sonic? Out of breath? That's a first." Knuckles smirked.  
  
Sonic gave his red friend a funny look, "Ha ha, anyway, you gotta hide me! Amy, man, she won't leave me alone!"  
  
As if on cue, "Sonikku! Oh, Sonikku!"  
  
Sonic eyes widen, "Uh, gotta jet!" And zipped off into the unknown with a little pink blur following behind.  
  
"Well, that was random..." Knuckles shook his head, than he remember Rouge and sigh. "Rouge! Come out now! I'm not one for hide-n-go-seek games!"  
  
"AHHHHH!!!" A scream sounded not too far from Knuckles.  
  
"Oh, no, that sounded like Rouge!" Knuckles took off in the direction of the scream. "Rouge, answer me! Where are you?! Roug—AHH!" Knuckles exclaim as he fell in a hole leading to the unknown. He landed with a loud thump. "Ugh...that's gonna leave a mark..." He rub his sore head and his poor, unfortunate tail. He glance around his surroundings, but all he saw was darkness.  
  
"Knuckles? Is that you?" A voice came from behind him.  
  
Knuckles turn around and saw a slight silhouetted, "Rouge?"  
  
"No, I'm just a figment of your insane imagination." Rouge said sarcastically as she found her way towards Knuckles in the dark, being a bat had it's advantages.  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Whatever, we need to find the shards of the Master Emerald before Slice does. And I can't see in the dark. Where are we, anyway?"  
  
Rouge only shrug her shoulders, "No clue. But you shouldn't have to worry about the dark. I am, after all, a bat, and all bats have good night vision."  
  
"Yay me." Knuckles said with sarcasm rolling off his tongue.  
  
Rouge smiled, "You're so cute, Treasure hunter."  
  
Knuckles blushed, "Whatever, lets just get going and find my Master Emerald." He walked off in the dark, nearly bumping into a wall and tripping over a small rock hidden in the darkness.  
  
Rouge sighed but followed gracefully, not running into anything. "You know, echidna, you should let me lead, since it is very, VERY dark here." She said, a step behind Knuckles.  
  
Knuckles turn to look at her, even though he could hardly make out her outline, "I can get through this—" And ran right into a wall. "—myself..." He fell down on his back, hitting the ground hard.  
  
Rouge laughed, "Hehehe, right! I'm sure you can, Mister High-and-Mighty."  
  
Knuckles plop himself on his elbows and rub his sore head, "Shut up, will you?" When Rouge continue to laugh at her fellow comrade, Knuckles growled and grab her right leg, causing her to fall next to him.  
  
"Ah!" She landed with a thump. "Ouch, why you..." She rubbed her now sore butt as she got up.  
  
Knuckles chuckle as he got up himself, "Hah, now you know not to mess with me."  
  
Rouge rolled her eyes, "Whatever, knucklehead." Suddenly a slight shuffling sound was heard and Rouge felt something run pass her feet. It was a huge rat with glowing red eyes. "Ahh!!" She jump up and landed in Knuckles arms, tightly clinging to his neck.  
  
The red echidna laughed. "Is the great Treasure Hunter Rouge, afraid of a little mouse?" He taunt as the rat ran away.  
  
Rouge glared at him as he put her down. "LITTLE MOUSE?! That thing was bigger than a cat!"  
  
Knuckles grinned. "Uh-huh, thanks for displaying that Rouge, I'll use your weakness to my advantage."  
  
"Hey! I let you know that mice are NOT my disadvantages!" Rouge shouted after Knuckles who started walking away.  
  
"Right. Whatever. Hey, look, I think I see some light up ahead." He said, pointing to a crack in the wall just before them. They walked to it. "Hmm...stand back, Rouge." Rouge did as she was told and Knuckles went right to work punching through the small crack, making it bigger and bigger. Soon it was large enough to let them though. "Yes! Freedom!" Knuckles exclaim and ran out, but not before Rouge stopping him.  
  
"Ah, ah, ah, ladies first!" She smirk and walked out before Knuckles could say anything. He rolled his eyes and followed behind the "lady".  
  
"It's great to be rid of that damp and smelly underground cave." Said Rouge, as the sunlight hit her face.  
  
Knuckles nodded, "Yeah, I guess." He looked around his surroundings, obviously they were still on the island, since he could see a large ocean out front, they were out of the small forest now. The sky was clear and blue with a bright yellow sun shinning down on them. "We better get going."  
  
Rouge sighed, "Fine, fine, Mr. All-work-and-no-play." They walked around a little bit to see if they could get a signal. No such luck. "I'm telling you, Knuckles, there has to be one in Paris! Lets just look! Please?" Rouge said after an hour of searching the island.  
  
Knuckles sighed, "Fine." Knuckles and Rouge than headed in the direction to the ocean, where they ran into a certain two-tailed fox.  
  
"Hey guys, have you seen Sonic around? I've been looking everywhere for him!" Tails said when he noticed the two.  
  
Knuckles thought, "Yeah, I saw him sometime ago on the southern part of the island four hours ago. He randomly appeared being chased by Amy."  
  
Tails eyes brighten up, "Really? Thanks, I can probably find him now. Hey...what are you two doing here anyway? Aren't you suppose to be guarding the Master Emerald, Knuckles?"  
  
Knuckles frown, "Long story, kid. Now it shattered and we are heading to Paris to retrieve a piece."  
  
The young fox giggled, "Paris? The city of "love"? I hope you have a good time with Rouge!" He laughed as Knuckles blushed.  
  
"Shut up!" Knuckles shouted shaking a fist at the boy as he ran off to look for Sonic.  
  
Rouge laughed, "Don't make such a big deal out of it, Knuckles. But you're sure are cute when you blush." That comment caused Knuckles to blush an even deeper shade of red.  
  
"Rouge..." He growled in warning.  
  
Rouge shrug, "You need to loosen up a bit, Treasure Hunter. It's no wonder why you live alone." With that said, Rouge started on her way to Paris to retrieve a piece of the Master Emerald. She already knew Slice was there. She could feel it in her heart.  
  
The red echidna sighed as he followed behind, quietly. She was right. There is no wonder why he lived alone on that island. He's so uptight. He doesn't let anyone get near him without starting a fight. It's amazing that Rouge is still here, helping him find the Master Emerald. Rouge. WHY is she even helping him? Was it because she was going to trick him and gain the Master Emerald shards? It was highly likable. They were in an awkward silence for ten minutes before Knuckles decided to chance it and ask Rouge her purpose for joining him on this so-called adventure.  
  
"Why are you helping me?" He suddenly asked, breaking the silence.  
  
Rouge turn to him, startle by his voice, "Huh? Oh, well, you said you needed my help since we are up against my sister."  
  
"You still didn't have to help. What is your real reason, Rouge?" He moved beside her than, making Rouge feel uneasy.  
  
'Why is he doing this to me?' Rouge thought, not answering him right away, 'Why am I really helping him anyway?' "I, well..." She started and sighed. "You need my help, and I wasn't going to let you have all the fun, Treasure Hunter." She smirked, hoping that was a good cover up from her real reason, a reason she didn't even know yet.  
  
Knuckles shrug, not giving it much thought, "Well, you better not be after the Master Emerald for yourself."  
  
That comment made Rouge boiled, "For myself? Listen here, echidna, I'm not always after some stupid jewel! Just because I'm helping you doesn't mean that the first chance I get, I'm going to take it! I thought you'll could TRUST me by now!"  
  
Knuckles was slightly shock, "It's hard to trust someone who's been after the Master Emerald the first time they met."  
  
Rouge growled, "I do not want your Master Emerald! You can keep it! And you know what? Look for it on your own! I'm leaving!" With a huff, the white bat turn to leave as Knuckles stared at her in complete shock.  
  
He felt bad as he watch the female bat disappeared from his sight. Empty. That how he felt inside. Sure, they had their fights. They were so much alike, they often clash. Knuckles sighed as dark clouds hover over head. "Great, now what do I do?" The thought of going back to apologize to Rouge ran though his head, but he quickly dismissed it. 'Why should I go and apologize? Man, if only I kept my big mouth shut about the Master Emerald, I'll still have Rouge here with me. Uh...Okay, Knuckles, you have officially lost it.' He knew he had feelings for that white bat. Anyone in their right mind could see how beautiful and wonderful she was. He just didn't know. Someone like him couldn't risk something like that. He has a job to do, a destiny to fulfilled, and nothing must stand in his way.  
  
Thunder clash in the heavens above as it started to downpour. "Oh, just great!" Knuckles exclaim as he was drenched in mere seconds. He soon found shelter in an abandon cave and decided to wait out the storm. 'I hope Rouge is okay...'  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Oh, I can't believe that stupid egotistical echidna! After all I've done for him, he still thinks I'm after that dang emerald!" Rouge ranted on as she push branch after branch out of her way. After a minute she stopped and sigh. "Why am I so upset anyway? I'm Rouge the Bat! The greatest treasure hunter ever to exist! I don't get upset over petty things such as this." But, than again, she was up against Knuckles.  
  
A clash of thunder jolt her from her thoughts. "Oh, wonderful. Just what I needed to match my mood. Guess I should find somewhere to hide out until the storm passes." She found an entrance to a cave. "Hmm...why not? Better than getting soak." She enter the cave and sat down on the ground. Unbeknownst to her, that was the same cave a certain red echidna was hiding out in.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The opposite side of the cave, Knuckles sat, wondering where Rouge went to and hoping she is alright. He was lost in his thoughts to notice someone else has enter the cave at the other end (The cave has two entrances, obviously). He was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard a startle scream. Jumping up, Knuckles looked around to see the outline of a figure with large ears and wings. "What? Rouge?"  
  
"Knuckles! What are you doing here?" Rouge exclaim, startle to see the red echidna so soon. 'Great, faith just loves playing tricks. Putting me in the same cave as that echidna...'  
  
"Probably the same reason as you. Waiting out the storm?" He asked, leaning against the rocky side wall of the cave. It was leaking and a few droplets were heard creating a small puddle.  
  
"Yeah, yeah..." She stayed quiet, lost in her own thoughts. Knuckles spoke up again.  
  
"I'm sorry about earlier." He said, eyes fixed on a puddle. "I shouldn't have assume that all you wanted was the Master Emerald. I know I can trust you, Rouge. I have before, during ARK, and I can again." His eyes remain fixed on that certain spot.  
  
Rouge thought of what to say but nothing came to mind, than, "It isn't your fault, Knuckles. I know I'm not very trustworthy, and having your trust, means a lot." She smiled at the echidna as he finally looked at her. He return the smile.  
  
The storm outside stopped, as the sun came out to shine brightly down on them. Rouge and Knuckles left the cave feeling more at ease. It was damp, but beautiful. A colorful rainbow was seen in the distance and Rouge was amaze at how beautiful it look. She has never seen a rainbow in her life.  
  
"Wow. It's beautiful." She gasp at it.  
  
Knuckles smiled as he looked at her, "Yeah, it is. Beautiful." The bat turn to him, causing him to turn away, blushing. "Well, uh, lets go. We need to get to higher ground if we are going to glide to our destination."  
  
Rouge nodded. Knuckles than took off to a tall mountain that they pass a few hours ago. After a few minutes of running, they reached the mountain, climbing it. Once at the top, Knuckles looked out before them.  
  
Rouge also glanced around. "Wow, this island is bigger than what I thought. And the ocean looks more clearer up here." Knuckles nodded and took off in the air. "Hey! Wait for me!" She jumped off, after her companion.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Hmm....How did you like chapter two? Are they going to make it to Paris to see all the purty sights? Don't think so. ^_~ Stay tune for Chapter three! 


	3. Chapter 3

Declaimer: READ CHAPTER 2 WHICH TELLS YOU TO READ CHAPTER 1!  
  
Shortest chapter by far.  
  
Chapter 3/??  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Elsewhere  
  
Slice looked around a small clearing for the emerald shard. She still haven't found it yet, and was growing frustrated. "Ugh! Where is it?!" She shouted, losing her patients. Already, she's been looking for the emerald shard for five hours, and no luck yet.  
  
Her radar suddenly startling beeping slowly, glowing a slight green. "Yes! It's around here somewhere! Now where are the girls? Oh, who cares! The emerald shard is around here...now where?" She started walking around the field to see if her radar would pick up a stronger pace. It still stayed steady, but slightly stronger. "I'm getting closer..."After traveling around for a minute, it beeped frequently, glowing red. "Great! Now, where is it?" She glanced around, but saw no shard. "What? Is this stupid thing broken?!" Before she could do anything, the ground started to shake beneath her. "What the? What's going on here?!" As soon as those words left her month, something burst out from underground. Something large. Something scary. "AHH!" Slice yelled in terror.  
  
Standing in front of her was a large demon. It looked to be like a dragon with equally large wings. It's head was the shape of a wolf's head and the tail was at least fifteen feet long, and deadly. It showed it's sharp teeth, which were, in fact, longer than Slice herself. It's colored was different. It's large body was golden brown and covered in fur instead of scales like your typical dragon. Eyes glaring a bright red as it stared down at Slice.  
  
Slice nearly fainted at the sight of it. "Wh—what IS that thing?!"  
  
The demon creature roared, blowing Slice away and into a nearby tree. It advance onto Slice who struggle to get up. She looked at it than noticed something on it's forehead, between it's eyes. The emerald shard!  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Knuckles and Rouge glide over the ocean to their destination in hopes of finding an emerald shard. So far, they've been traveling for a good hour, and the sun was beginning to set in the distance. As they pass over a field, something strange caught Rouge's attention.  
  
"Knuckles! Look, down there! What is that thing?" Asked Rouge, pointing to a strange creature down below them.  
  
Knuckles look at what Rouge was pointing to. It looked like a cross between a wolf and a dragon. "What the...? Rouge, isn't that Slice down there?"  
  
"Slice?" It was indeed her sister, Slice. "Great, what has she gotten herself into now?" Rouge than notice something glittering between the demon's eyes, "Knuckles! It has one of the emerald shards!"  
  
Knuckles growled, "Great, just what we needed. Stay here Rouge while I deal with that thing."  
  
"What are you, crazy?! There's no way I'm letting you go down there by yourself, Knuckles! You could get hurt, or worst!" She exclaim.  
  
"Don't worry about me, Rouge. I know what I'm doing—" Rouge cut him off with a look.  
  
"Listen to me, Knuckles. We are in this together, got it? I'm not letting you fight that thing by yourself." She crossed her arms, determine to fight along side with the knucklehead.  
  
Knuckles sighed in defeat. "Fine. Just stayed out of my way." And with that, he zoomed down to the demon, landing in front of Slice. Rouge landed on the side of him. The demon roared once more and Knuckles held his ground, putting his arms in front of his face. Rouge did the same.  
  
"What is this thing!?" Knuckles yelled as he charged at it and punching it a couple of times, not doing any damage. Rouge kicked it a few times, with the same results. "Dang! Our attacks isn't having any effect whatsoever!"  
  
Rouge growled, "This thing is invincible! How are we to take any hits off?"  
  
Suddenly the wind picked up strongly as a figure appeared near the demons heard. The figure was a green dragon with yellow eyes, dressed in a blue samurai's kimono, with a sword. The figure smirked. "Ah, hello, friends."  
  
Knuckles stood in a protective stance in front of Rouge as he growled at the dragon. "Who are you? And give me back my emerald piece!" Knuckles demanded.  
  
The dragon smirk. "My name is Sameo. I am a demon wielder. And I can't simply give you this emerald shard. This...shard here, can make my demon stronger, faster, and ten-times better."  
  
Knuckles wasn't having any of it, "Give me back my emerald piece! NOW!" He was about to charge at the demon once more, but Rouge held him back. "Ugh!"  
  
Sameo chuckle, "I should be going now. I sense that there are more out there. Come, Dragtaro." They bother disappeared.  
  
Knuckles was beyond furious, "Ugh! I can't believe this! How could I be so stupid and let this happen!"  
  
"Calm down, Knuckles." Rouge said, tying to comfort the echidna.  
  
"Calm down? Calm down?! That—that THING has a piece of the Master Emerald! Do you realize what that means? It could destroy this world! I can't just simply calm down while that thing is out there, searching for MORE pieces!" Knuckles ranted. He panted as he glared into the distance, where Sameo and his demon disappeared.  
  
Everything was quiet for a while and they forgot about Slice who slipped off somewhere. Rouge lean up against a tree. 'I can't believe this...now what do we do? We can't defeat that thing on our own. We could get Sonic...but I wouldn't want to bother him with this. Oh, I don't know.' She glanced at Knuckles, who was obviously upset, and taking his anger out on an innocent tree. 'Poor tree, I mean, poor Knuckles. That emerald means a lot to him. I wish there was something I could do to help him...'  
  
"Excuse me, miss?" Someone said from behind Rouge, startling her. She turn around to see a mysterious male echidna. He was a strange one, black with pale blue markings and dress in some weird ancient body armor. A scarf was wrap around his lower face, covering his nose and mouth. Also one wrap itself around his head, trailing down his shoulder and blowing in the wind. His armor was tore in certain spots, and he held a sword over his back. All in all, he was quite attractive.  
  
"Uh, yes?" She asked, nervously, hoping Knuckles would notice soon.  
  
The echidna glance at the red echidna than back at her, "My name is Tarosamo. You are seeking the shards of the Master Emerald, am I correct?"  
  
Rouge nodded. "Yes, what do you know about the Master Emerald?" She asked. She was curious about this newcomer.  
  
"I know enough. And that—" He points to Knuckles, "—must be the guardian of the Master Emerald. Am I not mistaken?" Rouge nodded.  
  
Knuckles, as if hearing them, turn to see a strange figure talking to Rouge. Being suspicious, he ran over to them, jumping in front of Rouge, "Who are you?" He growled.  
  
Tarosamo bowed respectfully. "My name is Tarosamo. I am here to aid you in your quest to regain the pieces of the once great Master Emerald."  
  
Knuckles crossed his arms, "How do I know you aren't after the Emerald for yourself?"  
  
Tarosamo faced remain the same. "I am too, after the one that goes by the name Sameo. He seeks the same as you, but for a different reason. He dreams of conquering the world and making it his own. I only wish to prevent that." He said, his voice monotonous.  
  
Rouge step out from behind Knuckles, rolling her eyes at the echidna. "Tarosamo, what do you know about this...Sameo?" She asked with genuine interest.  
  
"Sameo, also known as the Demon Summonor, has been place dormant in this Earth crust for many centuries, awaiting his chance to strike. The emerald shard found it's way to his liar, awaking him and his demons. He wields one from each element; Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind. That one that you had seen, Dragtaro, was the Earth Demon, Sameo's must trusted and loyal servant. The one emerald shard was place on it's forehead to increase it's abilities, such as strength and speed, making it invincible to take down on one's own without any attack power."  
  
"Attack power?" Rouge asked with a raised eyebrow, listening attentively.  
  
"Yes, attack power is an ability allowing you to wield strong attacks, either with a weapon of your choice or a limb, such as your hands or feet. I will show you one of my own." He took out his sword, targeting a nearby tree. "Eternal Darkness!" He shouted, attacking the tree with three swipes of the sword and than somersaulting, covering the tree in a darken swirl. The tree explode into nothingness.  
  
Needless to say, Rouge and Knuckles were shock. "How did you do that?"  
  
Tarosamo replace his sword back in it's sheath, "I will explain the rest to you tomorrow. It is getting dark, we must rest."  
  
Knuckles and Rouge than noticed how dark it gotten, "I guess you're right. But where do we stay for the night?"  
  
"I set up camp not to fall from here, we shall rest there." Tarosamo lead the way, with the two following behind at a much slower pace.  
  
Knuckles didn't quite trust him. "We have to keep our guard up on this one."  
  
Rouge laughed, "Calm down, Knuckles. He seems like a nice guy to me, and he's on our side." Knuckles than stop suddenly, causing Rouge to stop and look at him, "Knuckles?"  
  
He turn to Rouge, "Rouge, listen to me, all I'm asking is that you keep your guard up around this guy. He might turn on us, and I don't want him hurting you."  
  
"Knuckles? What are you talking about? Hurting me? He's not going to hurt me, or you! You gotta be more trusting. I have a good feeling about this guy." She smiled reassuring. She really didn't know why Knuckles was so protective and caring of her all of a sudden.  
  
Knuckles sighed as Rouge went to the camping sight where Tarosamo was waiting, "I hope you're right, Rouge. For your sake." He glance up at the sky. The stars shun down upon the earth, glittering it. He soon join the two.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Wow! They never made it to The City of looove. And a new character AND villain! I actually have a picture I drawn of them, but since I got a new computer, my old scanner/printer/copier doesn't want to install itself into it. -_- Anyhow, next chapter up soon! Tata!  
  
Sorry for the chapter being so short!  
  
Oh, yeah, I do have a picture I drawn ON the computer of Sameo and Tarosamo, if you like to see them, ask me and give me your e-mail address. BUT! You must like my story, first. Hehe. J/k, if you wanna see Sameo or Tarosamo or both, you may. NOW tata! 


	4. Chapter 4

Declaimer: Need I tell you again?  
  
Author Notes: Wow! 23 reviews for three chapters? That's the MOST review I ever gotten for just THREE chapters! Me so happy! **does a little dance** *ahem* Anyhow, I like to thank everyone who reviewed.  
  
Also, I like to apologize to Magi_K. I tried sanding you those pictures, but they were return to me...(e-mail address wasn't recognize) Once again, I'm sorry!  
  
Chapter 4/??  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Somewhere, in another dimension.  
  
The dragon, formally known as Sameo, stared into a portal as he watched the three animals. He growled. "So, Tarosamo decided to team up with them, hm?" He turn to his demon, Dragtaro, "When the time is right, I shall send you to attack. And I'm sure, you will come back victorious. They are no match for you, even with that Tarosamo's help."  
  
The demon roared in agreement as it left the room. As soon as it left, a young woman walked in. She was a white unicorn, dressed in a red maidens gown, flowing to the floor. It glimmer as the light hit it. Her long yellow hair flow down to her mid back.  
  
"Lord Sameo." She greeted as she bowed.  
  
Sameo mentioned for her to get up and continue, "What is it, Klaudia?"  
  
"The red one. Is he the one you've been searching for, milord?" She asked, mentioning to the portal in which shown a picture of the red echidna, the white bat, and the black and pale blue echidna.  
  
Sameo also looked at the portal, "Yes, I believe he is. He holds the sacred power of Ilas. He does not realize it, but I can feel it illuminating from him. It burns deep inside his soul, in his heart. He could prove to be a problem in my plan. No matter, I'll deal with him later. You are dismiss. Oh, and please, send in that bat...Slice."  
  
Klaudia nodded than bowed and turn to leave without a single word. The demon summonor turn his attention back to the small viewing portal, smirking at the now sleeping echidna. If he must win, he would need to find a weakness. His eyes took a glance of his female companion and his evil smile widen.  
  
A few minutes later, Slice walked into the room, "What do you want?" She demanded, not in a very good mood, obviously.  
  
Sameo eyes never left the portal, "Having a bad day, my dear?"  
  
"What do you think?! First you kidnapped me and bring me here, than one of your demons try to hit on me! What do you think, OH MIGHTY SAMEO?!" She said the last part with sarcasm.  
  
"Oh? But I thought you despise your sister, Rouge, is it not?" He turn around to face her.  
  
Sliced stopped ranting, "My sister? What does she have to do with anything?" She was now curious.  
  
"She plays a big part, as a matter of fact. And I'm sure that you are willing to comply?"  
  
Slice thought for a moment, 'Hmm...he's offering to get rid of my bratty sister...and without Rouge in the picture, I could finally live in peace...' She smirk, "You got yourself a deal." She stuck out her hand for him to take.  
  
"Excellent." He took her hand in his large ones, shaking on it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning, Knuckles awoke to someone poking him in the side, "Stop that." He sat up and glared at Rouge who grinned at him.  
  
"Mornin', sunshine!" She shoved a plate of something in his face, "Here, Tarosamo made breakfast, it's actually good!"  
  
Knuckles took it and look at it. "What's this?" He sniffed it, it smells alright.  
  
"It's, uh, Sushi Rice. Pretty good stuff." Rouge said, finishing off her food. (I have you know, that I have never had Sushi rice before, okay? Okay! Continue...)  
  
Knuckles cautiously eat his food. He swallow. "....Not bad..." After he finished his food, he glance around the area. "Where's Tarosa—whatever?"  
  
"Tarosamo. He went off training somewhere. He said he'll be back later to, I guess, teach us this "attack power" thing."  
  
"Humph, I don't need some echidna who thinks he's better than I am to teach me anything." Knuckles said stubbornly.  
  
Rouge sighed, "You are so impossible, knucklehead." Rouge lean back against a tree and chuckle.  
  
"What's so funny?" Knuckles asked, not finding anything funny at all with their current situation.  
  
"Just think about it, Knuckles, how all this started. You were on your island when my sister came, and than we travel to another island, you're emerald shattered, and than a demon was resurrected, and now look at us." She smirked at him.  
  
Knuckles stared at her blankly. "I see no humor in that."  
  
Rouge rolled her eyes, "You are so dull, echidna."  
  
As they were talking, Tarosamo decided to join them once more. "Are you two ready for some basic training?" He asked them, catching their attention.  
  
Knuckles cross his arms, "What is the purpose of this "training"?"  
  
"To be able to defeat Sameo and to gain the remains of the Master Emerald. Is that not what you want?"  
  
"Of course that's what we want." Rouge jumped in before Knuckles could react. "Knucklehead here is just so untrusting. You got to forgive him." She glared at Knuckles who "humph" and turn away.  
  
The black and pale blue echidna curtly nodded. "Come, we must get started at once." He lead them to an open field, Knuckles hesitantly followed at a slower pace. "Here." He stopped in the certain where a beast laid growling at them. It was white with red eyes and long fangs. It looked like a giant rat.  
  
Rouge stared at it, "What IS that thing?!" She asked, 'I HATE rats!'  
  
Tarosamo pointed his sword at it, "That is a Ratherdere. It's bite is poisonous, so watch out."  
  
Rouge looked at him, "You except us to fight that thing?"  
  
Knuckles took on a fighting stance and smirk at the bat, "Scared, bat- girl?"  
  
Rouge cross her arms over her chest and humph. "As if!"  
  
The Ratherdere charge at them at full force, nearly hitting Rouge, who jumped out of the way just in time.  
  
It turn around, circling them. "Quick, Rouge, do as I say. Your first attack will be Double Back Slash."  
  
Rouge look at him questionably, "Double Back Slash?"  
  
Tarosamo nodded, "Yes. Just ran forward, jump, and kick twice, land on the ground, and do a backwards somersault. Do you understand?"  
  
Rouge nodded, "I think so..." She ran forward at the demon, yelling out, "Double Back Slash!" She jumped in the air, aiming her feet at the demon. She kicked it in the face twice, landing on the ground swiftly. As soon as her feet made contact with the ground, she jumped up again doing a backwards somersault, bringing her feet down hard on the demons head. The demon went swirling across the ground.  
  
Tarosamo smiled, the first time he actually smiled, "Excellent Rouge."  
  
Knuckles was impress too. "Wow, Rouge, I must admit, that was pretty good, even for you."  
  
Rouge grin and stuck her tongue out at the echidna. "You think you could do better than my attack? Lets see what you got, red boy."  
  
Tarosamo look at Knuckles. "You will use your fists. As your fist harness your power."  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Tell me something I don't know." He murmur.  
  
If the other echidna heard him, he made no comment, "You shall do an attack called Dynamic Fist."  
  
"Yippee." The red echidna said sarcastically, crossing his arms. While they were discussing the attacks, the beaten up Ratherdere, unsteadily, hustled itself on it's four legs. It roared to get their attention.  
  
Tarosamo continue with what he was saying, "You must harness your power in your fist. Charge at the demon with full speed and attack rapidly, but you must remember, for the attack to work, you have to, under all circumstances, yell out the name of the attack."  
  
Knuckles sweat drop, "That's ridiculous!" He sighed, "Fine, whatever." He charged at the Ratherdere in full speed yelling out "Dynamic Fist!" He punched it a few times jumping up, and spinning down to land a large knuckle on it's head, killing it instantly.  
  
Knuckles landed next to the unmoving body of the Ratherdere, "Ha, that was too easy." He smirked at Rouge, who yawned.  
  
"Child's play, echidna." She taunted him. She doesn't know why she love making his blood boil, all she knew was that she love seeing his face red with anger. It made him kind of...attractive.  
  
Tarosamo nodded, "Very well done, Sir Knuckles."  
  
"Sir Knuckles?" Rouge asked, raising an eyebrow, "How'd did this knucklehead earn the title "sir"?"  
  
Knuckles was equally curious.  
  
Tarosamo stayed silent for a minute, 'I might as well tell them.' He cleared his thought, "Sir Knuckles was originally Knuckles father. An echidna warrior and guardian, who protected the sacred jewels located in the ancient ruins in Galia."  
  
"Sacred jewels?" Rouge asked, moving a little closer.  
  
"My father?" Knuckles asked.  
  
Tarosamo continue as if he wasn't interrupted. "Galia is a abandon village in the mountainous region on the outskirts of Avalon. The sacred jewels, know as Joya De La Oscuridad and it's counter partner Joya De La Luz, otherwise known as the jewels of Darkness and Light. Those jewels were created ten thousand years ago by a race that called themselves Gran Protectores, or Great Protectors. They were also the ones who created the Master Emerald you now protect. Realizing the power that the Jewel of Darkness process, they lock it away for many centuries and created the Jewel of Light to counter the darkness powers if it ever got into the wrong hands. You father, Sir Knuckles the First, guarded those jewels until his dying day, like his father before him."  
  
"So, who guards those jewels now?" Rouge sat Indian style on the soft green grass with her elbows on her knees and her chin on her knuckles.  
  
"Mastred. Mastred is the demon that was summon three thousand years ago to protect the jewels."  
  
"Mastred? What is that?" Knuckles was leading against a tree.  
  
The black echidna rub his temples, 'Why must they continue with the questions?' "Mastred is a two-headed guard dog that shall kill anything that enters the chamber."  
  
Rouge grinned, "Sounds exciting. How much are they worth?"  
  
"Rouge! Stop being so greedy! Those jewels are not for you to touch!" Knuckles scowl her.  
  
Rouge frown and sigh, "Always ruining my fun."  
  
"So, why haven't I been assign to guard the jewels?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"Because, Sir Knuckles, at the time you were born, was the same time that the Master Emerald was created as a replacement for Joya De La Oscuridad."  
  
"Oh, I guess that makes since..." The red echidna said in thought.  
  
Suddenly the air around them thickens and the sky turn dark. The three heard a voice laughed from above them and look up to see none other than Sameo.  
  
"A pleasant surprise to see you all again." He grinned wacky.  
  
Knuckles immediately took on a fighting stance. "What do you want, demon?!"  
  
Sameo laughed, "I just want what is simply mine to begin with. Lets start with Joya De La Oscuridad."  
  
"What do you want with that jewel? You already have a piece of the Master Emerald!" Knuckles yelled, "Which is MINE! Now give it back!"  
  
"Oh, but I don't have just a piece." The evil demon resurrector pulled out...the whole Master Emerald!  
  
Knuckles was about to charge at the demon, when he was held back again, by Rouge. "You knucklehead! You can't just charge blindly at him!" She smack Knuckles on the head.  
  
Knuckles grumble, but said nothing else.  
  
"Now, you listen here! I want you to hand over that emerald right now!" Rouge demanded as she pointed at Sameo. "How did you get the whole Master Emerald, anyway?"  
  
Sameo grinned, "Oh, I have my ways, little girl."  
  
Rouge eyes glared red, "I am NOT a little girl! I am a full grown woman!" In her anger, she shot a blast at Sameo, killing him instantly. Everyone partied after the defeat of the demon summonor.  
  
Naw, just kidding. Rewind, couldn't resist!  
  
Sameo grinned, "Oh, I have my ways, little girl."  
  
Rouge eyes glared red, "I am NOT a little girl! I am a full grown woman!" This time, she was the one readied to charge at him, but Knuckles held her back by her arm.  
  
"You bat-girl! You can't just charge blindly at him!" Knuckles yelled, using her words against her.  
  
Rouge pulled her arm free from Knuckles gasp. "So?! Nobody, and I repeat, NOBODY, calls ME a little girl!"  
  
Knuckles sighed, "Get over yourself, Rouge, nobody really cares."  
  
Rouge growled at him, but turn back to Sameo.  
  
Tarosamo watch them amused. Those two were quite interesting. It's as if history was repeating itself, what with Knuckles father and all.  
  
"What do you know about the Jewel of Darkness, anyway?" Rouge asked, crossing her arms, trying to ignore the fact that that DEMON called her a little girl.  
  
Sameo rolled his guy, "Like every bad villain, to rule the world, duh."  
  
Knuckles sighed, "This is like a plot to a very horrible game or a most terrible fanfic..."  
  
Tarosamo, after being quiet for so long, step fourth, "I'm sorry to say, Sameo, that we do not have Joya De La Oscuridad." He stated, he wasn't really sorry, he was glad that they didn't had the jewel, or else, Sameo would send his demon pets out to kill them and take the jewel by force.  
  
"Is that so? Than you must tell me where the jewel resides." Sameo, still in the air, floated down, stopping only a few inches above ground.  
  
Rouge laughed, "As if! Do you think we'll tell you where the jewel is located? I think not!"  
  
Sameo eyes glowed red, than turn back to their normal yellow orbs. "That's quite alright. If you do not tell me, I will just make you. Either way, I'll find out where that jewel is."  
  
Knuckles frown, "And how will you do that?"  
  
Sameo smirk, "Like this." He snapped his fingers. Nothing happen for a few seconds, they thought that he was going to send out one of his demons. The three stood in a fighting stance.  
  
Than, suddenly, Rouge disappeared from the ground.  
  
"Rouge!" Knuckles yelled, running to the spot where she was last. He turn back to the dragon, "What have you done with her?! Give her back, NOW!!"  
  
With a yawn, Sameo wave his hand as if not caring, "Oh? I may do that, if you tell me where the jewel is."  
  
"I don't know where that stupid jewel is!"  
  
"My senses tell me that you are lying. Are you lying, echidna?"  
  
Knuckles growled, tired of this demons' games. "No! Now give Rouge back to me! I swear, Sameo, if you harm one hair on her head, I'll..."  
  
"You'll what? You can't do anything to me, you do not have the power of Ilas."  
  
"Ilas?" Knuckles asked confused.  
  
Tarosamo sighed, "You are not ready for the knowledge of Ilas, Sir Knuckles."  
  
Knuckles growled at Tarosamo, "What the heck is Ilas?! And stop calling me SIR Knuckles!"  
  
"As you wish. Ilas is an ancient echidna spirit that rests in your soul, Knuckles." The other echidna said truthfully.  
  
Knuckles stared at him, "WHAT?? There's an ancient echidna spirit that rests in my soul?"  
  
"That's what I said." Tarosamo nodded.  
  
"Okay, okay. Let me get this straight...I have this spirit being inside of me and this guy..." He points to Sameo. "Wants the power of the dark jewel to take over the world and allow his demons to run amuck, and you," He points to Tarosamo. "Want me to defeat him so that is why you were teaching me and Rouge those techniques?"  
  
Tarosamo nodded once more.  
  
"AND YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS?!?" Knuckles yelled, nearly blowing the other echidna over.  
  
"Uh, yes..."  
  
Knuckles sigh, "Great! How did I get myself mixed up in this?"  
  
Sameo smirk, "Knuckles, I do believe that you are forgetting about something, or shall I say someone?"  
  
Knuckles raised an eyebrow, "Really? Who?"  
  
Tarosamo and Sameo sweat drop. The dragon snapped his finger and an unconscious Rouge appeared by his side. "Have you forgotten about this beautiful bat?"  
  
Knuckles sweat drop, "Oh, uh, yeah...ahem...Give Rouge back, now!"  
  
Sameo grinned, "Lets trade. This bat for the Jewel of Darkness?"  
  
Knuckles growled, "I told you, I don't have that blasted Jewel!"  
  
The green dragon sighed, "Fine." With a wave of his hand, he fling Rouge's body to Knuckles. "I'll just get that jewel myself, with the Master Emerald. I'm sure that over grown jewel could get me a good signal. Good bye, for now, Knuckles. Don't think that you've seen the last of me." With that, Sameo disappeared into the unknown.  
  
Knuckles and Tarosamo ran over to Rouge's side who started to stir. "Rouge, are you okay?" Tarosamo asked as he helped Rouge up.  
  
Rouge shook her head to clear the cobwebs. "Uh, I think so..."  
  
Knuckles cross his arms, he was really starting to hate this, and that Tarosamo, moving in on HIS woman! Wait, rewind, pause...HIS woman? Where on earth had THAT thought come from? Knuckles, you are truly losing it.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Now this is interesting...Knuckles, THEE KNUCKLES, Greatest Treasure Hunter in the WORLD and Guardian of the Master Emerald, is taking claim to a simple female bat? Oh well, lets see what happens, shall we? In the next chapter!  
  
Oh, I'm SOOOOOOOOOO very sorry if they seem Out Of Character. ( I didn't mean for that to happen....Hope you still like it, though!  
  
Also, I wasn't going to post this chapter until the 22nd, but I think I make an exception.  
  
Next chapter will get posted ONLY if I can get 30 reviews! Nah, I'm joking, I post it regardless. ^_^ It gets more interesting, too. 


	5. Chapter 5

Declaimer: Yes, you know...read other chapters...  
  
Author Notes: I hope you all like this chapter. I wasn't going to post it until the 24th, but I said, why not? I hope everyone like it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Sameo slammed his fist down on the table in a small room, "What do you mean, you can't get a trace?!" He bellow, scaring the young bat that was in front of him.  
  
Slice coward, "I...I...I mean...the emerald...can not...pick up a trace...the jewels must be...cloak or something..." Sliced murmur, this was ridiculous! Slice the Bat, NEVER cowards in fear to anyone! But, than again, this dude here was an insane demon summonor and, well, anyone would be terrified of him.  
  
Sameo growled, "You are worthless! Go out and FIND it than since the Master Emerald can not pick up a trace!"  
  
Slice stared at him, "What? But it could be anywhere!"  
  
The dragon eyes glared red, "I thought you were the greatest treasure hunter in the world?"  
  
Slice sighed, "Yes, but..."  
  
"But what? If this is the way you want to act, I would've had a better chance in getting that jewel with your sister!"  
  
That made Sliced flared, "My sister? Pul-LEASE! I'm ten times better than THAT bat." Slice crossed her arms. "I'll find you that bloody jewel before that sister of mine and her boyfriend. You can count on me, Lord Sameo." Sliced left the room without another world.  
  
Sameo smirk, "I knew she'll fall for that one, that stupid creature. Once I get what I want from her, I shall depose of her." He lean back on a chair, only having two legs on the floor, than Klaudia came in a little too noisily, causing Sameo to fall on the ground..."Ow..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Tarosamo, Knuckles, and Rouge were in a small clearing where they had set up camp the night before. Tarosamo offer to teach them a few more moves or whatever, and of course, Knuckles decline, but Rouge was glad to be taught a few more tricks.  
  
Knuckles sat in a tree, over looking the area. He snorted as he watched that echidna teach Rouge a few kicking techniques. "Humph, I don't need some stupid echidna teaching me how to fight. I already have my own fighting styles and techniques..." He said to himself. 'I bet that echidna is just trying to get close to Rouge. How could she be so stupid?'  
  
Down on the ground below the tree, Tarosamo was teaching Rouge the art of Tarosamia, a unique fighting technique that he had learnt from his father, who had learnt it from his father before him. It goes back many, many generations.  
  
"So, in order for me to master this technique, I must be one with the power of kicking?" Rouge asked, slightly confused, it all sounded crazy to her.  
  
Tarosamo nodded, "That is correct."  
  
Rouge shrug, "Well, if you say so...and this attack...also has an elemental power too?"  
  
He nodded once again.  
  
"What is the element for this attack?"  
  
"The element depends on the individual who wields it. My element happens to be Wind." He swirl his hand around creating a tornado. "Sir Knuckles element is fire."  
  
Rouge grinned up at Knuckles, "That explains why he's so hot headed."  
  
Knuckles ignore her, looking off in the distance.  
  
Rouge turned back to the black and pale blue echidna, "So, all we need to do is figure out my element?"  
  
"That is correct, unless you do not have one."  
  
Rouge frowned, "That's not fair. Knuckles gets an element, I should have one too. After all, I am the better Treasure Hunter!" She grinned and did a cute pose.  
  
Tarosamo coughed, "Ahem...yes...anyway....try to do the attack I taught you. Oh, here, take this." He pulled out a blue stone and tossed it to Rouge.  
  
Rouge caught it, turning it around in her hand. "What is this?"  
  
"That is an elemental stone. The Water Stone. It will help you in your attack. But in order for it to work, you must keep it with you at all time." Tarosamo explained.  
  
"Hmm..." Rouge took out a string and tied it around the stone so it would hang like a necklace. Rouge tied it around her neck, "Perfect." She purred. "So, what was that attack again? Oh, yeah, Swirling Doom?" Rouge kick the air two times, than did a spinning roundhouse kick, flipping up, and concluded with another set of kicks, and to her and everyone else's surprise, water swirl around like a tornado. Rouge was amazed, "Wow, that's awesome!"  
  
Tarosamo nodded, also impressed, "Very good, Rouge."  
  
Knuckles than decided to jump from the tree and landed next to Rouge. The bat grin, "Nice of you to join us, Sir Knuckles." She bowed mocking him.  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Stop that."  
  
Tarosamo grinned at the two, "It is nice of you to join us, Knuckles. I was wondering if you'll like to learn a few new moves?"  
  
"Thanks, but no thanks." He declined walking away from them.  
  
"Aw, Knuckles, c'mon. It's not like it's the end of the world." Rouge said, trying to get the echidna to change his mind.  
  
He thought for a moment, than turn to Rouge, "Uh, Rouge, could I speak with you? Privately?" He asked, glancing at Tarosamo as he said the last part.  
  
All playfulness left Rouge as she notice the seriousness in his voice. "Uh, sure, what's up?"  
  
Knuckles started walking away. Rouge sighed and jog a little to catch up with the red echidna. They stayed silent for a while and Rouge was beginning to think he wasn't going to say anything at all. She started to say something, but Knuckles cut her off, "Rouge, I—I mean..." He sighed. This was so hard.  
  
"Knuckles? What's wrong?" Rouge asked with concerned.  
  
Knuckles growled, "This whole thing is wrong."  
  
"What whole thing?"  
  
"The whole thing with this...this "adventure"! It makes no sense!" Knuckles yelled, stopping and looking towards the blue sky.  
  
Rouge thought for a moment, "Well, maybe it's not suppose to make sense, you know? Maybe faith intended for us to save the world. We had before, right?"  
  
"Yeah, but this is different."  
  
"How is it different?"  
  
He turned to Rouge, looking into her eyes. "How is it different? Saving the world those other times didn't involve demons and "powers". Sonic was always the main character and hero. It didn't involve some...some...WEIRD echidna!"  
  
Rouge shook her head, "Knuckles, Sonic isn't here. And...are you jealous of Tarosamo?"  
  
Knuckles stared at her as if she was crazy, turning red. "Wha—what?! No! Why would I be jealous?!"  
  
Rouge shrug and took a step closer, "I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me."  
  
Gulping, Knuckles backed up from her, "Uh..."  
  
"Are you jealous because he is getting a lot of attention from a certain bat?" She hinted, moving a little closer.  
  
"What?! No! I, why would I be jealous of that?!"  
  
Rouge smirked, "Oh? Well, if that's the case, I'll go back and "train" with Tarosamo some more."  
  
"NO! Uh, shoot..." Knuckles sighed.  
  
Rouge grinned, "Ha! I knew it! I knew you liked me! Just admit it, Treasure Hunter!"  
  
Knuckles face turn redder, if possible. "Don't flatter yourself, bat-girl."  
  
"Aw, is that how you wanna be, knucklehead? Just admit it, I wont tell!" She taunt, grinning even wider.  
  
"Rouge, I said I didn't like you! I—" He stop, I what?  
  
"Ouch, well that hurts." Rouge pouted playfully, turning away, pretending like she was really hurt. She was, actually, a little sting.  
  
Knuckles sighed as he walked up behind Rouge, okay, time to admit the fact, first to himself. He knew he didn't like Rouge, in fact, he hated her guts sometime. And that was that. But, he also knew he loved her. Yes, Knuckles, you loved that bat since the first day she, uh, try to steal your emerald...okay, maybe not than, but it was definite after saving her from falling off that beam with the ARK incident. Needless to say, he was freaked out. He never, in all his years of life, felt this way towards anyone, let alone a female. He was so used to being alone. That was until Sonic and friends walked into his life (note: I do not know how Sonic and Knuckles met!). And than, Rouge. Trying to steal the Master Emerald. Of course he forgave her. Forgave her enough to fall in love with her. Yeah, time to let her know that.  
  
Knuckles stopped in thought, but what if she doesn't feel the same? What if...she laughs at him? What if she rejects him? What if? Life is full of what ifs. But you got to chance it sometimes. He didn't know what to do if she didn't felt the same. That would be horrible, given the fact that he finally brought up his courage and than she throws him back down. Knuckles shook his head, no matter. He's just going to go on with his life.  
  
Rouge noticed that Knuckles been in deep thought for the pass five minutes. What was on his mind, anyway? She shrug her shoulders, "Uh, Knuckles?" Knuckles eyes turned to her, focusing on her face, her beautiful crystal blue eyes.  
  
He took a deep breath, 'Now or never, god, give me the strength.' "Rouge, there's something I must tell you..."  
  
"Yeah?" Rouge had a tint of worry in her eyes as she looked at him.  
  
Knuckles sighed one last time, before continuing, "Rouge, this is difficult for me, but, I..." He suddenly stop as he saw a creature behind Rouge, ready to strike. His eyes grew wide, "Rouge! Look out!" He pushed Rouge out of the way before the creature could make contact.  
  
It hissed. It looked like a giant spider, with a long horn on it's forehead and eight furry legs. It was black with red spots around the horn and on it's back like a Black Widow's.  
  
Rouge stared at it, "What is that?"  
  
Knuckles glared at it, standing in front of Rouge, again, protecting her from the demon thing. (Protective, isn't he?)  
  
The spider hissed as it slashed a leg at Knuckles, who dodged it. He pushed Rouge out of the way, not wanting her to get hurt by the thing. "Rouge, leave, now!"  
  
Rouge rolled her eyes, "Whatever, knucklehead. I'm not going anywhere. I can fight, too, you know."  
  
Knuckles growled. "You are impossible."  
  
She smirked, "But you are more so than me."  
  
The spider rolled it's eighTEEN eyes as the two argued. It finally got tired of hearing their little spat, and charged at them, all eight legs moving fast on the ground. It jumped in the air, legs pointed directly at the two.  
  
Knuckles and Rouge noticed it just in the nick of time and jumped out of the way as the spider created a small crater in the ground where they were standing just seconds before. As soon as the spider touched ground, it jumped up again and landed a claw across Knuckles face, knocking him into a tree.  
  
"Knuckles!" Rouge yelled, running to the fallen echidna, before she reached him, the spider attacked her, sending her to the opposite side from Knuckles. The spider stood over Rouge, it's green saliva dripping from it's fang...thingies...(Wow, my terminology sucks. Lol). It look maniacally at the bat, ready to fest. It face inch closer and closer to her.  
  
Rouge backed away as far she could, and ended up backed into a tree, the spider had her. Rouge closed her eyes, 'Well, looks like this is the end...how ironic...dying by the hand...er...mouth...of a over grown spider...'  
  
Suddenly, something splatter across her face and she snapped her eyes open. She glanced at the spider. Something, or rather, someone cut it straight down the middle and what splatter across her face was the spider's guts. Rouge jumped up in a panic.  
  
"Ew! Gross!!" She wiped the green stuff from her face in disgust and look at her savior, Tarosamo. He stealth his sword, which still had spider guts on it.  
  
"Are you alright, Rouge?" He asked in concern.  
  
Rouge nodded, "Yeah, fine, except for the fact I'm cover in spider guts!" She paused, "Hey, where's Knuckles?"  
  
They heard a moan, turning to it, Knuckles slowly woke up, with a large bump on his head.  
  
"Knuckles!" Rouge hurriedly rush to his side, "Are you alright?"  
  
He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and felt the small bump on his head, flinching a little bit. "What do you think?"  
  
"Hey, don't bite my head off for caring!" Rouge crossed her arms and glared at the red knucklehead.  
  
Knuckles turned away from her, not wanting to look in her angry eyes. He was so close too! So close in telling her...but yet so far away. No wonder why he hated spiders. All the courage he built, the strength he mustered...crushed in a mere moment. Burst into flames. Vanish into thin air. Gone, forever!! KABO—(Knuckles: THEY GET IT ALREADY!!) Ahem...well, Knuckles courage was gone. ^_^()  
  
All was silent. Tarosamo, forgotten, as it may seem, glanced between the two, nervous. He slightly cleared his thought to get their attention. That didn't work as the two were lost in their own little world. Lets see what is going on in their heads, shall we?  
  
Knuckles was confused. Confused about everything. About life in general, his guardianship, his destiny, and of course, about Rouge. Why did that stupid spider had to interfere? Now he'll have to build all that courage up again. Funny, Knuckles, fearless Knuckles, he wasn't afraid of anything! Why on Angel Island would he be afraid of telling a certain female about his feelings? He was so concealed, he wouldn't let anyone in. Sonic would have a better chance at telling Amy he loves her! Knuckles paused, and rolled his eyes. Yeah, right.  
  
Rouge sighed as we enter her mangle thoughts. 'That stupid smelly echidna, you try to be nice to him and what does he do? Ugh...I hate him so much...but yet, I love him...' (Oh no...Helga?) So many months had passed since they first met. A lot had happen. Feelings grew stronger. It was amazing. The feeling she gets when she is around him. Her heart beat quickens. It just drives her insane. His cute little dreadlocks, his wonderful purple eyes, his, uh, knuckles.  
  
Yeah, she knows she loves him, just like Knux knows he loves her. But, they don't know how they feel for each other and are scared to confess.  
  
Tarosamo cleared his throat, louder this time, and the two snapped out of their thoughts. They both turned to Tarosamo who smiled sheepishly. "Uh, we should get going..."  
  
Rouge nodded and stood up, "Yeah, I guess you're right, Tarosamo. Lets go." She than left the two guys and went to the camp site to get ready and look for whatever they were looking for.  
  
Knuckles also stood up and glared at Tarosamo. "Where are we going?"  
  
"We are going to retrieve the Jewel of Darkness before Sameo does." He answered as he too headed to the camp site, with the red echidna following behind.  
  
"How do I know if this jewel even exist?" Knuckles asked, not fully believing this weird echidna.  
  
Tarosamo turn and stared Knuckles in the eyes. He was only a few inches taller than the red echidna (sorry, forgot to mention that earlier). "Because, I would not lie about the faith of the world." And with that, he turned away and started his walk again.  
  
Knuckles sighed. "Wish I was Sonic right about now..." Than an image of Sonic being chased by Amy flash through his mind. "Or maybe not..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Well, that's chapter five for you. Well? What do you think? Review, thanks mucho! 


	6. Chapter 6

Declaimer: la la la la...oh, uh, hi! I don't own anyone but Tarosamo, Sameo, the demons, Slice, the bats, and the idea for this fic. ^_^  
  
Authors' Note: I will not update to Chapter 7 until Niagera updates his story; Dredmond Manor II: Billionaire's Revenge! So, everyone, get 'im! Okay, I'm joking. ^_^ I hope you all like Chapter six! I'm on a roll here! Next chapter will be up in probably four days! Depends if I get chapter ten done before than...oops...y'all weren't suppose to ear—er—read that....O.o()  
  
PS: Oh, crap, I just came to a realization! Rouge eyes aren't blue, they are green! Oh, screw it. Her eyes will be blue in this story! ^_^  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Slice grumbled as she looked at the old ruins. That blasted jewel is supposed to be bury somewhere in there. "That stupid freakin' dragon. Who does he think he is? I do NOT work for free! Even if he does get rid of my sister for me, and who's to say if that jewel even exist? My radar's been dead since I got here!" Needless to say, Slice was quite frustrated with her new "boss". As the 'famous' Rouge once said, "Too much work, for too little pay".  
  
"Speaking' of which, I wonder what she is doing right now? Ah, who cares! And will someone PLEASE tell me why I am talking to myself?" Slice sighed as she figured that she was going insane.  
  
A voice than spoke to her, 'I am the voice in your head. I am the one that tells you to kill. Listen to me, and the world shall be yours...'  
  
Slice eyes snapped open, "What? Who said that?"  
  
The voice spoke again, 'I told you, I am the voice in your head...'  
  
"Voice in my head...?" She looked around but saw no one  
  
'Yes, aren't you a smart one.' The voice said sarcastically.  
  
"It's official, I finally lost it..." Slice slumbered to the ground with a sigh.  
  
'You haven't lost it. Not yet. I am, in fact, behind you."  
  
Slice turned around, but there was nothing there but a tree and a butterfly on a leaf. "Where? I don't see anyone..."  
  
'Down here...' It said.  
  
"Huh?" Slice glanced down to the butterfly. "The...butterfly...?"  
  
The butterfly looked up at her, its eyes large and wide. It's wings where black, which was odd for a butterfly. 'Yes.'  
  
Slice jumped back, "But...how can you speak? You didn't even move your mouth!"  
  
The butterfly stared at her. 'It's called telepathy.'  
  
The female bat mouth made an 'o' shape. "So that explains it. May I ask why you are talking to me?"  
  
The butterfly fluttered its wings and flew on top of Slice's head. 'Of course, I am, lack of a better word, your "conscious". I am here to help you with Sameo's evil plots.'  
  
Slice raised an eyebrow, "But aren't conscious supposed to tell us what's right and wrong? And lead us to the road of righteousness?"  
  
'Shut up, I have to make a living somehow!'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey, I think it's this way." Rouge called out to the two male echidnas. They've been searching for Joya De La Oscuridad for half the day now.  
  
"What makes you so sure, bat-girl?" Knuckles asked as he look in the direction Rouge pointed to, which lead to a dead forest. Fog surrounded it and the grass was an unnatural brown colored.  
  
Rouge grinned, "Because, I'm the greatest Treasure Hunter ever, and plus, I know these things!"  
  
Tarosamo nodded in agreement. "I agree with Rouge."  
  
Knuckles huff and murmur, "You would..."  
  
Tarosamo continued, "I can feel a slight pulse from the emerald in the direction, through The Forbidden Forest."  
  
"Whatever. Lets just get this thing over with." Knuckles moved on ahead of the two as Rouge and Tarosamo exchange a look and shrug.  
  
Many noises surrounded them as they entered The Forbidden Forest. "Ew, this place is so dead..." Rouge murmured as she stepped over a large stick.  
  
Knuckles shrug, "You were the one that wanted to come in here."  
  
"Oh hush you." Rouge than stepped on a snake. It hissed at her, snapping at her leg. "Ah!" She shouted, jumping in Knuckles arms once more.  
  
Knuckles grin, "We gotta stop meeting up like this."  
  
Rouge blushed and quickly jumped out of the red echidna's arms.  
  
Tarosamo picked the snake up by its neck and threw it away from the group. The snake went swirling into the darkness of the forest. "Do not fear, Rouge, the snake is gone."  
  
"I, uh, wasn't afraid. You gotta remember, I'm Rouge the Bat!" She struck a cute pose, running her right hand through her hair and her left hand down her hip.  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes, "As if we didn't know. Yo, Tarosama-whatever, how long is it until we reach the end of this forest?"  
  
"It may take us three days to get to the other end on foot." Tarosamo said, taking a map out from his pocket. "This forest is also a maze of confusion. This map will guide us out, if you know how to read it."  
  
"Three days?" Knuckles took the map from Tarosamo. "Lets see..." He looked at it for a few minutes, turning it every which way, with a confused expression on his face. He looked up from the map to Rouge and Tarosamo. "....This map makes absolutely no sense." He handed it back to Tarosamo.  
  
"That must be because you did not acquire the skill in reading this type of map." The black and pale blue echidna said, looking at the map as if it was clear as day.  
  
"Whatever." Knuckles cross his arms and lean up against a tree.  
  
"Hey! Who goes there?!" A little voice said causing the three to turn around to see a small...toad. It was green, of course, with a deep scar over its left eye and it wore drags for clothes. It also had a scarf around his head.  
  
"Who are you?" Rouge asked, glancing down at the toad.  
  
The toad snorted, "The question is not who I am. But WHO are YOU? And what are you doing in my home?"  
  
"We're sorry if we disturb you, but we are on our way to the Great Ruins of Galia." Tarosamo offered to the toad.  
  
"What business do you have there?" He demanded to know. He sure was rude little thing...  
  
"Our business is our own." Tarosamo said once again. (I'm sorry, but I just HAD to get a quote in from Lord of the Rings! ^_^ Luv you, Legolas! Okay...shutting up...don't own 'em.)  
  
"Is it than?" The toad gave them a once over and nodded his approval. "You two seem worthy enough." He said, indicating to Rouge and Tarosamo, "But I am not sure about the red one."  
  
"What!? What is it about me that seems unworthy, toad-face?!" Knuckles shouted, shaking his fist at the toad.  
  
"Hmm...everything, actually. Anyhow, my name is Giles." Giles turned away and gestured for them to follow him. They obeyed and Giles lead them to a tree. Knocking on the tree four times, allowing an invisible door to open. He walked into the tree, the three doing the same. Once inside, they stood in a large room with only a wooden table in the middle and a few artifacts. "Would you care for something to drink?" He asked them. They all declined. He shrug, "Suit yourselves."  
  
"Giles..." Rouge started, "Do you know the fastest way through this forest?"  
  
Giles looked up at the bat for a moment, than nodded, "Of course I do. I've been livin' here for my whole life."  
  
"Great! So, what's the fastest way outta here?" Rouge asked. Knuckles was looking around the room at all the swords that Giles had posted up. He spotted a very unusual sword; the handle was a sculptured feature of a temptress, crafted in fine pewter. The hand-set in the middle of the guard was a beautiful green stone that enhances the visual impact of the guard. The blade was a highly polished steel blade.  
  
"The underground passage, of course, which is through that secret passage door." Giles pointed to a door on the floor which Rouge was standing on. Rouge quickly jumped off it.  
  
"Oh, great. Just what we needed, another underground passage." Rouge rolled her eyes.  
  
Knuckles curiously picked up the sword he was looking at, "Hey, Giles. Where'd you get this sword from?"  
  
The toad glanced at the sword and smiled, "Ah, that's a rare one, it is. That is the Mistress of Temptation Sword. I got it from the corpse of a warrior."  
  
Rouge also looked at the sword, it is nice. "The corpse of a warrior?"  
  
"Oh, yes. Fine warrior he was...I think. Anyway, that sword there holds the power of Genyatorista (Gen-Ya-Tor-Is-Ta)." He picked up the sword and held it in his hands, admiring the beauty of it.  
  
"Genyator—whadda? If you ask me, this adventure just got weirder." Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest as he glanced at the sword.  
  
Rouge rolled her eyes, "So, what does the power of Genyatorista do?"  
  
The toad shrug, "Beats me. Here, you can have it." He tosses the sword at Rouge, who hurriedly caught it without cutting herself.  
  
"What am I suppose to do with a sword? I have no use for it..." She turned it over in her hands than turned to Knuckles, "Hey, Knuckles, I'm sure you could use something like this. Here!" She tossed it to Knuckles who let it fall to the ground.  
  
Knuckles glance at it again, "I don't need a sword."  
  
"Just take it!" Rouge demanded. Knuckles sighed and picked the sword up.  
  
"How am I to carry it if I don't have a sheath?"  
  
Giles grin, "Ah! You need not to worry. I have one just for you, red one!" Giles went to another room and came back out a few minutes later with something in a bag. "This here is the finest they have out there! Of course, I'm not letting it go for free..."  
  
Sighing once more, Knuckles asked, "How much?"  
  
Giles grinned, "Just a hundred gold coins."  
  
"What?! A hundred gold coins? Just for THAT??" Knuckles yelled, "You can keep it than! And plus! I don't have gold coins!"  
  
"Knuckles, calm down, sheesh." Rouge said to the outrage red echidna.  
  
Tarosamo handed the toad a small green sack. "One hundred gold coins."  
  
The toad grin, handing over the bag. Opening the bag, Tarosamo pulled out a red sheath. Engraved in it was a tiger fighting a dragon. The echidna handed it over to Knuckles who took it.  
  
Knuckles sweat drop. "We have another problem."  
  
"What is it this time, echidna?" Rouge was getting frustrated.  
  
"If y'all have forgotten, I don't wear pants. Therefore, I do not have a belt, which means, I can't tied my sheath to me." Knuckles explained, practically spelling it out for them.  
  
Everyone sweat-dropped. "Okay, I do have another one that you can put on your back..." Giles once again left the room to retrieve the item. Once he returned, he handed the other one to Knuckles, of course taking back the previous sheath. "Here, no extra charge."  
  
"Yippee." Knuckles said sarcastically as he placed the sheath on his back, putting the sword in.  
  
Rouge grin, "Great! NOW we are ready! Let's go! I want to get out of here as soon as possible..."  
  
"Hey! What's wrong with my place?"  
  
"Oh, nothing, just the fact that it smells."  
  
"Well, what do you expect from a male?" Giles growled as they left through the secret door.  
  
"Good point, anyway, bye!" Rouge was the first to jump down followed by Knuckles who only snorted at Giles and than Tarosamo following behind.  
  
Giles chuckled, "Those kids...Hmm...I should call up the boss...he would like to know about my little encounter..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
I hope you liked it! Review please! Thanks a million! Oh, and if you'll like to see a picture of the sword, click here: FranklinMint.com. Okay, so I don't own the sword...YET, anyway...I will, someday... Tata for now! 


	7. Chapter 7

Declaimer: You know the drill...  
  
Author's Note: Sorry I took so long in posting this, stuff has been happening' and I wasn't going to post until I had 40 reviews, but since I'm only shy of one, here! Enjoy! ^_^  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Knuckles, Rouge, and Tarosamo found themselves in a dark tunnel. The only light came from a few candles that hung on the walls, lighting the way. It was cold and damp with cobwebs hanging from the ceiling corners, and a few corps was chain to the walls.  
  
Rouge nose wrinkled up as she slightly inhaled, "This place reeks of death. Ew...it's so gross down here!"  
  
Knuckles agreed, "Yeah, it is a bit disturbing..."  
  
Tarosamo merely shrug, "No matter. We must continue on our way."  
  
The three made their way through the tunnel which portrayed itself more of a dungeon than anything else. They were traveling in complete silence, except for Rouge occasional complaints about how nasty the underground path was and such. After a few more minutes of silence, Rouge suddenly let out a loud "EEK!!!"  
  
Knuckles was at her side in an instant. "Rouge?! Are you alright?" He asked in worriment.  
  
Rouge pointed to something that was in a dark corner. Knuckles turned to whatever she was pointing at to see red glaring eyes. "Rat!" She shouted.  
  
Knuckles sighed, "I would've never guessed that you were so girlish."  
  
The bat glared at Knuckles, "Just because I'm the perfect treasure hunter doesn't mean I'm FEARLESS OF RATS!! I HATE rats! I still have my feminine side, you know. And rats just give me the creeps!" (Funny, considering she's a BAT...member of the RAT family, ne?)  
  
Tarosamo chuckled. "Rouge, you need not be afraid of such creatures. They are fairly harmless."  
  
"Try telling that to HIM!" Knuckles and Tarosamo than noticed the rather large rat that towered behind them. Its eyes were as red as blood with large pointed fangs. It looked hungry. Hungry for an echidna and bat sandwich.  
  
Tarosamo grinned, "Well, guys. I'm sure you two are hungry. Lunch is on me!" He pulled his sword out and slashed at the rat before it could attack. He sliced the rat through its furry chest, straight to its heart. The rat let out an aguish scream before collapsing on the ground, dead.  
  
Rouge looked disgusted. "There is no way I am eating THAT!"  
  
Knuckles agreed with Rouge, "I'm not eating that, either. I'm, uh, allergic?"  
  
The other echidna only shrug, "Suit yourself, more for me." He gathered a few sticks that were lying a few feet away. After placing them on the cold tile stone floor, he created a small fire, rubbing two sticks together. Once the fire was large enough, he once again took his sword out and cut a piece of the rat's meat, roasting it over the fire. "Are you sure that you do not want any?" He asked the two.  
  
Rouge was about to declined again when her stomach growled. She blushed as Knuckles grinned, "Well, I guess I could..."  
  
"I guess I could too. I am kind of hungry. It's been a while since we last ate anyway." Knuckles sat down on the stone floor and took some of the rat's meat that Tarosamo had cut off. "Have some, Rouge." He took a bite of the now cooked meat. "Hmm...it's actually pretty good..."  
  
Rouge sighed and took a seat between the two males, "Okay...but if I died from rat poisoning, I'm coming for you, Knuckles."  
  
Knuckles grinned, taking another bite of the meat. "Can't wait, bat-girl."  
  
Rouge grinned back, noticing how cute Knuckles is when he grins like that. She shook her head and slowly took some meat that Tarosamo handed her. She cautiously took a tiny (And I mean TINY) bite of the meat. After chewing a few dozens times, she swallowed it. The two males looked at her expectedly. "...Well...Not bad...and not exactly chicken, either..." She finished eating the meat. "That was actually better that what I thought." After she said that, a loud burp erupted from her lips. She blushed as the two looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Uh, oops? Excuse me..."  
  
Knuckles chuckled, "Wow, Rouge. Didn't know you had it in you."  
  
She glared at the red echidna, "Be quiet you knucklehead, or I'll tell Taro over there that you sleep with a teddy bear."  
  
Knuckles eyes grew wide. "I—I—I don't sleep with a teddy bear!"  
  
Tarosamo had to laugh at that. "A teddy bear? Knuckles, I'm shock."  
  
Rouge grinned, "Oh yeah, he also sucks his thumb and talk in his sleep."  
  
"Hmmm..." Tarosamo nodded, "And, Rouge, how do you know all of this?"  
  
Knuckles head snapped in Rouge's direction, wondering the same thing. Rouge blushed as sweat form on her head.  
  
"Oh, uh...a little birdie told me?" She chuckled nervously.  
  
"Rouge..." Knuckles said in warning, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"Oh, fine! Sonic told me. He snuck onto your island while you were asleep and taped it all. It was pretty hilarious, and just so cute!" Rouge grinned.  
  
Knuckles growled, "I'm gonna get that hedgehog..."  
  
Tarosamo was now lost. Who was Sonic? "May I ask; who is this Sonic character?"  
  
Rouge nodded, "Sonic is the fastest hedgehog on the planet, or so he thinks. He's a hero, known by many. Saved the Earth a few dozen times, with the help of his friends, of course. Knuckles knew him longer than me, so if you want to know more, ask him."  
  
"Oh, really? Sir—I mean, Knuckles, what can you tell me about this Sonic?" Tarosamo was interested in the hedgehog now for some odd reason.  
  
Knuckles crossed his arms and slouch against the wall. "Fine. When I first met Sonic, we were rivals, I had mistaken him—" Rouge interrupted him.  
  
"You mean tricked! Sonic told me EVERYTHING!" She laughed.  
  
"Why on Angel Island is he telling you all this stuff?!" The echidna demanded.  
  
Rouge stuck her tongue out at him, "That's for me to know. Now, finished your story..."  
  
"Whatever...anyway, before I was rudely interrupted, I had mistaken Sonic for taking the Master Emerald. I fought him, of course, I found out he didn't take it. Eggman had."  
  
"And Eggman is?" Tarosamo also lean against a wall, listening with great interest.  
  
Rouge jumped up, "I can tell you about him! Well, Eggman, formally known as Doctor Robuttnic...I mean, Robotnic, has been tricking Knuckles ever since they met, that tells you how gullible he is."  
  
Knuckles growled, flashing a bright red, "I am NOT gullible!"  
  
Rouge rolled her eyes, "Knuckles, honey, you ARE gullible. You are only fooling yourself in denying it."  
  
He grumbled and turn away from Rouge as she continued her story.  
  
"Anyway, from what I've been told, Sonic has been up against Doctor Eggman ever since, well, practically forever. Defeating him, of course. The last two adventures were the most challenging, though."  
  
"The last two adventures? What were they?"  
  
She smiled, "Well, there was the ARK incident, two years ago. The most memorable one."  
  
Raising one eyebrow, Tarosamo asked, "What makes it so memorable?"  
  
"What makes it so memorable is that that was the time I first met Knuckles." She glanced at Knuckles, who looked totally surprised at what she said. She winked, "Well, that was one interesting experience. We started out as rivals, fighting for the pieces of the Master Emerald, claiming it as our own. When in truth, it belonged to him." She blushed, leaving out the part that happened during the Meteor Herb incident, after that battled. "Anyway, we became good friends ever since. Right Knuckles?"  
  
Knuckles was speechless. He had no idea that she felt that way about their meetings. "Uh, yeah..."  
  
Tarosamo nodded, "I see..." After a few minutes of silence, he spoke once more, "We should get going."  
  
They nodded and stood up, ready to leave this tunnel/dungeon place.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elsewhere, in another dimension  
  
A familiar toad bowed before the great, the all powerful, the incredible, the invincible, SAMEO. "Milord, I come bearing good news." He said, his head still held low before the demon lord.  
  
"Speak." Even though it was one meaningless word, it held great power, coming from Sameo.  
  
Giles clanged; he already knew Lord Sameo hated him. "Mi—milord...the three you mentioned...the two echidnas and bat. They came to me, milord. I sent them through the Internal Dungeon..."  
  
Sameo nodded, "Finally, you've done something right for a change. I shall see to them shortly. For now, you are dismissed."  
  
Giles bowed once more and left quickly before his boss found something amusing to do with him. He shutter at the thought.  
  
Sameo sat down in a chair, "Slice had better fine that jewel soon...if she fails...She would have to pay, dearly...with her life...but for now, I must see how things are going with Gatherdere." He snapped his fingers and a portal came up showing the image of a tunnel like dungeon. Internal Dungeon. In the dungeon was a rat...which was the rat that Tarosamo and the gang decided to have for lunch...  
  
"WHAT?!?! They ate my poor Gatherdere? They shall pay!! Hornrista, come fourth!" Sameo bellowed. The room he was in started to rumble a bit as a fire blast exploded from the floor. It was at least 10 feet tall. Its' body was made completely out of molted lava, a large fire horn rested on its head. Instead of feet, it had a long tail (thank of the Eternal Dragon from DBZ, sorta, kinda, not really, you know...) and large black claws. Its red fire eyes glared down at its' master.  
  
"Hornrista, I command you to find these creatures, and destroy them!" He pointed to the portal. The demon nodded and flew off to take out its' orders.  
  
Sameo sighed, rubbing his forehead, "All this evil business is giving me a headache..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Slice groan as she climbed a high mountain. "Ugh...how much farther up must I go?" The butterfly, which was named, Black Light, fluttered by her side.  
  
'You think that's something, try flying with these little wings! It's so tiresome!' The butterfly landed on Slice's shoulder, resting its poor small wings.  
  
Slice rolled her eyes, "You're much help."  
  
'Whatever. No talking, get climbing. You are almost at the top.'  
  
"Whoopie-doo." The bat said sarcastically as she finally made it to the top of the mountain tip thing. "Finally! I'm not used to all that bloody climbing!"  
  
'Stop whining. Now, venture over there, the jewel should be at the end of that forest.' The butterfly flew over to a bunch of trees which lead to the entrance of the forest.  
  
"A forest? You mean to tell me that climbing wasn't enough, now I need to get dirty and go through a forest? Are you insane?!" She yelled at the black wing butterfly.  
  
Black Light fluttered to Slice's side, 'Do all your kind act the way you do?'  
  
"And what is that suppose to mean?" Slice demanded with her hands on her hips.  
  
'What I mean is, if they do, than the world is doom.' The butterfly headed towards the forest entrance, with Slice reluctantly following behind.  
  
"Hey, I resent that, insect!" She yelled at the butterfly.  
  
If butterflies could roll eyes, than that is what Black Light would've done.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rouge was growing tired, once again. "Where is the exit to this thing?"  
  
Knuckles sighed, "Do you ever stop complaining?"  
  
"Not when I'm with you." She narrowed her eyes at the red echidna.  
  
Knuckles smirk, "I didn't know you cared."  
  
Tarosamo was again amused. He had no idea that they were that good in hiding their true feelings from one another. Tarosamo was very observant, and quickly realize that they had a soft spot for each other. It was pretty obvious that they cared for the other, even though they argued constantly, but he knew better. He knew that they were defiantly in love, rather they knew it or not.  
  
"Hey! Look, there's a latter!" Rouge ran to a latter a few feet away. The only problem was that the exit was sealed off. "Just wonderful! How are we gonna get out now?"  
  
"Have you forgotten that I can punch through just about anything, Rouge?" Knuckles climbed up the latter, punching the manhole cover. It pop up and landed a few inches from the hole. Knuckles pulled himself out of the hole, than helped Rouge out as well. Tarosamo jumped out of the hold, without any help, since after Knuckles got Rouge out, he turned around to take in their surroundings.  
  
They were now in a city. The streets were crowded and no one seems to take notice of the three figures that just popped out of the manhole. They were standing in the middle of the street, and oddly enough, no cars were coming.  
  
"Where are we?" Rouge asked, looking at tall buildings.  
  
Tarosamo smiled, "Welcome to Paris."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
They finally made it to Paris, eh? What does Sameo have in store for our favorite echidnas and bat? Please, review me. And those of you who did, I thank you, a million and two thanks! BTW, chapter 8 will be the best! You'll see...~_^  
  
Oh! Dudes (and dudettes), I forgot to mentioned that Sameo is a 6 foot 2 dragon. For profiles of the characters, either e-mail me or request in a review! (If you do, more characters that aren't in this story are in the profiles, too). It's a PDF file, though. Thought I tell you that. ^_^ 


	8. Chapter 8

Declaimer: Oh, I quit! *sigh* I don't own 'em. And I don't own Brian McKnight and the song "The Only One for Me". Hmm...I gave away the surprise...oh darn declaimers...  
  
Author Notes: This is the longest chapter by far! And probably the best too! I love it so much! I hope you will as well! I've been waiting forever to post this one! ENJOY!  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 8  
  
In a restaurant in Paris, not too far from where Rouge and Knuckles were, sat ten familiar bats. They sighed in unison, all exhausted. They've been searching high and low for their leader, Slice and still no luck. They were giving up hope.  
  
Panada, a pink bat with purple tip wings and dressed in a purple miniskirt and a pink tube-top, suddenly noticed something, "Hey...is that...Rouge? With that cute red echidna...and look! She has another one!"  
  
Nine heads turned in the direction where Rouge and the echidnas were. "Hey, you're right. Maybe she knows where Slice is at?" Daisy, a yellow bat, dressed in a yellow sundress with flower patterns, said as she too noticed the three.  
  
Betsey glared at Rouge. She so hated that bat for what she did, just abandoning the clan like she did all those years ago. It made her blood boiled just thinking about it. She'll get Rouge back, oh yes; she'll get her back indeed...  
  
"Betsey? Are you thinking about revenge against Rouge again?" Asked a pale blue bat, dressed in a pale blue shirt and black jeans, Safari.  
  
The big bat nodded, "Rouge will not get away with it."  
  
The girls sighed, Betsey always get like this when ever Rouge crosses her mind. No use in talking to her than.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rouge was excited; she had never been to Paris before. "Paris? Wow! Let's explore! Maybe we could find some treasures around here!" She was ready to run off, but noticed the guys weren't as excited as she was. "Uh, hello? Let's go?"  
  
Tarosamo shook his head as Knuckles spoke, "I thought we were supposed to be heading in the direction through the Forbidden Forest. It wasn't supposed to lead us to the city of Paris."  
  
Rouge sighed, "But Knuckles, since we are here, let's have some fun! Please?" She gave him her sweetest smile.  
  
Knuckles found himself giving in. He hated when she did these things to him. But they didn't have time to play. They had to find the Joya De La Oscuridad before Sameo. He sighed, "Fine, only for a little while..."  
  
Rouge grinned, "Thanks, Knux! You're the greatest!" She ran off to a jewelry store. Typical.  
  
Knuckles kept his eye on Rouge. Best keep an eye on her, just in case something happens.  
  
Tarosamo smirk, now that Rouge was gone, it's time for a man to man chat. "Knuckles, I believe we are needed for a talk."  
  
Knuckles turned to the other echidna, "About what?" He still didn't like him, and Tarosamo could tell.  
  
Tarosamo only said one word, "Rouge."  
  
The red echidna just turned redder. "Rouge? What about her?"  
  
Tarosamo only stared in the direction in which the bat ran off to. "She's something else, is she not?" First thing he must do is to get Knuckles to admit his feelings in the open.  
  
Knuckles growled, "What are you getting at, echidna?"  
  
The echidna turned to Knuckles, with a slight smile on his face. "I'm not getting at anything, Sir Knuckles. I am just very observant. I can see the way you look at her. I am pretty sure of the way you are feeling towards her."  
  
Knuckles blushed again, "I, uh, I don't—don't love her, if that's what you are saying..."  
  
Tarosamo nodded, "Knuckles, you can't lie to me."  
  
Sighing, Knuckles gave up, "Fine, maybe I do like her a little..." That wasn't good enough as Tarosamo glared at Knuckles. "Okay! Okay! Maybe I do...." He was interrupted as Rouge came running to the two.  
  
"Hey, guys, guess what!" She panted, catching her breath.  
  
Knuckles sighed, great, saved by the bat. "What?"  
  
Rouge grinned as she held up a piece of paper, giving it to Knuckles. Knuckles read it, "What's this?"  
  
"Can't you read? It's a masquerade! Tonight. Everyone's invited! We gotta go!" Rouge snatches the paper out of Knuckles hands. "So, what do y'all think?"  
  
Tarosamo nodded, "I think it would be wise to go to such an event."  
  
"Fine, what time does it start?" Knuckles crossed his arms, still worried about getting the jewel of darkness.  
  
Rouge scanned the paper once more, "It says here that it starts at 8 o'clock. Hey, Tarosamo, you think you could get us a place to stay? We may be here for a while."  
  
Tarosamo eyes light up as he smirked, "Sure, Rouge."  
  
Knuckles gulp; he knew what Tarosamo was up to. "Uh, Rouge...maybe that's not a good idea..."  
  
"Oh, stop worrying, knucklehead. Everything will be fine!" She pinches his cheek, causing him to flinch and rubbing the spot she pinched.  
  
Tarosamo nodded and went off to find a place where they could stay for a few days, leaving Rouge and Knuckles alone.  
  
Rouge smiled up at Knuckles. "C'mon, Knuckles, we gotta find you something good for the masquerade tonight!"  
  
Knuckles whimpered as Rouge pulled him away. He had a bad feeling about this....  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elsewhere  
  
Sliced was now through the forest, and she looked a mess. Dirt covered her from head to toe, her hair was tossed and turned, and her beautiful clothes were torn in certain parts. She glared at Black Light. "That is the LAST time I listen to a butterfly!"  
  
Black Light shrug, or shrugged best he could, since butterflies don't have shoulders. 'How was I to know that that hole was that deep and filled with grimy water? And that that hive was actually a BEE hive, and that bear wasn't exactly friendly? And that you couldn't swim?'  
  
Slice growled, "Ugh! Out of all the things to give me, I got stuck with a dang butterfly!! WHY?!"  
  
Black Light sighed, 'I'm not that bad...sure, the last creature I was assigned to didn't last very long, and well, the one before that didn't either, or the one before that, and the one before that...'  
  
Slice fell over anime style (I haven't used that one in a while). She got up and glared daggers at Black Light. "You mean to tell me that everyone you were assigned to FAILED?"  
  
'Well, yeah....BUT! You are different...I can sense some great potential in you...'  
  
The bat rolled her eyes, "Whatever, lets just go. I'm starting to get hungry." The bat walked with the butterfly fluttering behind her. They soon approach a temple. "Is this the place?"  
  
'Hmm...do you sense anything?'  
  
Slice closed her eyes for a moment, "Hmm..." Her eyes than snapped opened. "Yeah! I feel it! Wow, that power is incredible!"  
  
The butterfly smirk, or try to, I mean, come on, he IS a butterfly! 'It is a powerful jewel. The power is incomparable. Except with the exception of The Jewel of Light.'  
  
"The Jewel of Light? I don't think I heard of that one. Whatever, lets just get this jewel and leave." Slice entered the temple, not knowing the danger that awaited her....  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Knuckles found himself looking at a few suits that Rouge picked out for him. She pushed him to the dressing room. "Alright, hurry up and try them on!" She grabbed his sword as he was pushed into the dressing room.  
  
Knuckles didn't even have time to protest. He sighed in defeat and looked at the clothes that were place in his arms. He enjoyed being...naked. :-\ The first one was a black tuxedo. It looked fairly nice, but nothing he would wear. It's amazing how this place had his size...  
  
Rouge waited patiently for Knuckles. Five minutes passed, Knuckles finally choose one suit that he actually liked and tried it on. He looked at himself in the mirror and smirk. "Hey, I actually look nice..."  
  
"Knuckles, are you done yet?" Came Rouge's voice.  
  
Knuckles shouted over his shoulder, "Uh, yeah! I'll be out there in a minute!" After a few seconds of straightening up, he nervously left the dressing room.  
  
Rouge looked up from the magazine she was reading and slightly gasped. Knuckles looked absolutely wonderful! He picked out the white tux with gold decorating it and a black bow-tie. Knuckles blushed at the looked that Rouge was giving him. "Wow, Knux. I would've never guessed that you would look that good in a tux..."  
  
"Uh, yeah..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "This looks expensive. Are you renting or buying?"  
  
Rouge thought for a moment, "We'll buy! You're gonna have to wear that again!" She winked. "Now, change out of that and meet me at the cash register."  
  
"But how are you going to pay for this?" Knuckles asked, not sure if they could afford it.  
  
"That's for me to know. Now, hurry up. It's getting late." Rouge walked away to the cash register.  
  
After changing back into...nothing, Knuckles soon met Rouge by the register. Rouge grabbed the tux from Knuckles and handed it to the cashier.  
  
"Bonjour, will you be paying in cash or credit?" Asked the cashier.  
  
"Credit." Rouge handed the man her international credit card as she grinned at Knuckles who raised an eyebrow. "Never leave home without it!"  
  
After scanning the card, the cashier handed Rouge back her credit card and put the clothes in a bag, also handing it to Rouge. The bat smiled.  
  
"Merci beaucoup. Have a good day." He smiled politely as the two left.  
  
"Hmm...I wonder where Tarosamo is at." Rouge asked, not seeing the strange echidna. "Oh, here's your sword." She handed the sword back to Knuckles who placed it back on his back.  
  
"Why do I even have a sword?" He murmured. "It's not like I'll be using it or anything."  
  
"And you say I complain too much." The bat remark as she finally spotted their new friend, "Hey, there's Tarosamo. C'mon, Knuckles." The two walked over to Tarosamo. "So, where are we staying, Taro?" She asked once they were with him.  
  
"Hotel Francois 1er. It's a four star hotel." He stated. "Its a few blocks from that masquerade that you two will be attending tonight."  
  
"Aren't you going, too?" The bat asked him.  
  
Tarosamo shook his head, "No. I will be doing some research on the location of Joya De La Oscuridad. And you two need a break."  
  
"Whatever, could we just get to our hotel rooms?" Knuckles said, impatient.  
  
Tarosamo smirk, "Of course. Follow me." They followed him to a large hotel building as a doorman opened the door for them. Rouge gasped at how magnificent the lobby of the hotel was.  
  
Knuckles was equally amaze. "This isn't bad...looks expensive. How are you going to pay for this?"  
  
"Do not worry about that, Sir Knuckles." Tarosamo stated as he went up a flight of spiral stairs.  
  
Rouge glanced around the place, "So, where are our rooms?"  
  
"My room is here." He nodded to a room which had the numbers 317 on the door. He threw Rouge an extra set of keys. "Your room is there." He mention to a room next to his, 319.  
  
Knuckles was almost afraid to ask, "And...my room?"  
  
"You." He points to Knuckles, "Will be sharing a room with Rouge."  
  
"WHAT?!?" They both exclaim.  
  
Tarosamo chuckled at the expression of their face. "Three rooms are much too expensive. I'm sure you two will get along." Tarosamo put his key in the keyhole and the door opened. He stepped into his room, closing the door behind him, leaving the two in the hallway.  
  
They glanced at each other, "You're sleeping on the couch." Rouge said, putting her key into the door, stepping inside.  
  
"Fine with me." Knuckles groan, walking into the room.  
  
Rouge let out a low whistle, "Wow, this place is...huge." The walls were painted a soft cream colored. The bed was a large king size bed with red sheets and a red quilt and look quite romantic for lovers! Eh...ahem... The large window leads onto a beautiful balcony. On either side of the bed were two nightstands with beautiful lamps. There was a room that led to the bathroom. Rouge walked into the bathroom to check it out. The bathroom was also a sight to see, with a bathtub that could probably fit two people, or more (Ack! Don't think THAT!). There was a mirror with gold rims above the sink.  
  
There was also another room conjoin to the bedroom. Seems to be the sitting room. A large couch sat in front of a window and a television set in front of that, with a glass coffee table to finish it off with.  
  
"Wow, Tarosamo out did himself this time." Knuckles said, sitting on the couch, with his arms stretch out behind his head.  
  
Rouge strolled into the sitting room, "Yeah, this is amazing! Hey, check out the balcony!" She opened the sliding doors and step out onto the balcony. The sight before her was breathtaking. The balcony over looked the ocean. Since it was well after seven, the sun was beginning to set, glittering off the ocean, reflecting it perfectly. She paused in thought..."Wait...oh crud! It's after seven!" Rouge ran back into the room; pass Knuckles, who gave her a questioning look.  
  
Rouge threw Knuckles bag at him, "Here, get dressed! We'll gonna be late!" She grabbed another bag, which Knuckles haven't noticed before. She dug through it, pulling out a small mask for the party. "And here, now get!" She shoved him in the bathroom.  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes; he hated being pushed around...  
  
After washing up, brushing his teeth, grooming, and putting on the tux, Knuckles emerge from the bathroom. Rouge was in the setting room, watching television when she noticed that Knuckles was finally done.  
  
"About time." She smirked. Grabbing her bag, she left to get herself ready as well.  
  
Knuckles sighed; he knew he was going to be here for a while.  
  
After twenty minutes and brushing up loose ends, applying some makeup, fixing her hair, and all those other girl things...(Hey, what can I say? I was a tomboy practically my whole life! *ahem* ...Carry on...), Rouge slowly came out of the bathroom.  
  
Knuckles glanced up from the television only for a moment, than turn his eyes back to the television. One second later, his eyes snapped back up at Rouge, doing a double take. What he saw shocked him beyond belief. Rouge was dressed in a shimmering midnight blue one strap dress. The dress hugged her body in all the right places. She also wore two sapphire earrings on both her ears and a sapphire necklace around her neck. All in all, she looked stunning.  
  
Rouge smiled to herself as she spun around, "So, what do you think?"  
  
Knuckles was speechless. "You're...you look...gorgeous..." He breathed out. He knew that was an understatement. Words couldn't begin to describe how she looked at that moment.  
  
"You think so?" She asked, coming up to him.  
  
Not trusting his voice, he nodded.  
  
"Great! Let's go." She grabbed Knuckles hand and pulled him out the door.  
  
Knuckles numbly followed, his mind on something else. Something that he shouldn't be thinking about. 'Darn these hormones...'  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
After ten minutes, they were standing in front of another large building. (Note, I have NEVER been to Paris...I don't know what it looks like! Movies don't help...) A doorman was also posted outside allowing people in. Of course, not ANYBODY can come in. It was a black tie event. The doorman allowed Rouge and Knuckles in, staring at them strangely. You'd think he never saw a bat and an echidna before.  
  
The ballroom was decorated most beautifully. (Please, don't make me describe it...hehe...) A lot of people were there, dressed formally in tuxedos and elegant dresses, and some even wore masks. The dance floor was crowded with couples dancing to the soft music perform by the orchestra. A buffet table line up against the far walls where people were gathering varies of food items.  
  
It took Rouge breath away. She wanted to drag Knuckles out to the dance floor and just dance with him, but decided against it.  
  
"Rouge?" Someone asked from behind them. They both turned around to see a male tiger. He was also dressed in a tuxedo, much like Knuckles, but his was black.  
  
"Marquis?" Rouge asked recognizing the tiger.  
  
Marquis grinned, "Rouge! It is good to see you again!" He hugged her.  
  
Rouge smiled, returning the hug. "Marquis. It's been a while! How have you been?" She asked as they parted.  
  
"Can't complain. And you?" He asked, noting how gorgeous she looked.  
  
"I've been just fine! Oh, and this is Knuckles. Knuckles, this is Marquis. We've worked together a few years back." Rouge introduced them.  
  
Knuckles nodded his head in acknowledgment, not saying too much.  
  
Marquis smirk at the red echidna. "Knuckles, eh? That's a funny name."  
  
Not wanting Knuckles to do something stupid, Rouge change the subject, "So, why are you here, Marquis?"  
  
"Why, I am the host of this party." He glanced around.  
  
"Really? You've moved up in the ranks, huh?" Rouge smirk at her old friend.  
  
He nodded, "Yep. Oh, shoot. You must excuse me now; I need to speak to Mrs. Frederique." He nodded at the two before walking off to a human lady.  
  
Once he was gone, Knuckles turned to Rouge, "And who was that?"  
  
"Oh, him? We were partners on a few missions back with the government a few years ago. He was assigned to another unit, though." Rouge explained.  
  
They were quiet again, listening to the soft music. Than someone walked up on the podium and grab the microphone, speaking into it. "Ladies and gentlemen, I like to thank you all for attending the grand masquerade ball this evening. Now I will be handing the mic over to Brian McKnight who will be our special quest singer for this event!" Everyone cheered as Brian McKnight walked onto the podium. (I like him, so sue. :-P Don't own him, though! Even though I probably would make millions if I did...mawhahaha...)  
  
"Wow! Brian McKnight? I'm gonna have to get his autograph before he leaves..." Rouge said as Brian started singing one of his songs.  
  
Knuckles glanced at Rouge, "Uh...would you...like to dance?" He asked nervously.  
  
Rouge didn't even have to think about that one. "I love to." She took his hand and this time, he led the way.  
  
The words of the song started to flow as the two danced.  
  
~*~*~La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,  
  
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, Etc. -_-()~*~*~  
  
~*~You say you've seen too many things  
  
That turn out to be too good to be true  
  
Against your better judgment opened up your heart  
  
'Til you found the joke was on you  
  
Looking out of the rest of our lives  
  
If we're gonna be together or apart  
  
About the only way I know how to come  
  
Is straight from my heart~*~  
  
The two waltz around the ballroom, lost in each other eyes. No longer were they in a crowded room. To them, they were the only two there.  
  
~*~I want you now, I'll show you how  
  
I can be the man you need me to be  
  
I've been around, but now I've found  
  
That you're the only one for me~*~  
  
'Wow, she's gorgeous...' Knuckles thought, staring into her endless blue orbs. He had no idea how lucky he was in having Rouge right now, with him.  
  
~*~Say you'll never fall again  
  
You won't subject yourself to such pain  
  
If you give me half a chance I will  
  
Never leave you standing out in the rain  
  
But if you think that I could look you in your face and lie right through my teeth  
  
Then turn around and walk away~*~  
  
Rouge was also mesmerized by Knuckles purple eyes. 'Wow, I never knew Knuckles could dance...this is actually nice...I could stay like this forever...' She leaned her head on Knuckles shoulder, causing him to blush a bit.  
  
~*~Cross my heart, girl I care for you and when I look into your eyes  
  
I must say...  
  
I want you now, I show you how  
  
I can be the man you need me to be  
  
I've been around, but now I've found  
  
That you're the only one for me  
  
I need you so  
  
I can't let go  
  
Gonna be all that I can be  
  
I want you still, I always will  
  
'Cause you're the only one for me~*~  
  
~*~La la la la la la la la la (x100...)...~*~  
  
~*~I want you now  
  
I'll show you how  
  
I can be the man you need me to be  
  
I've been around, but now I've found  
  
That you're the only one for me  
  
I need you so  
  
I can't let go  
  
Gonna be all that I can be  
  
I want you still  
  
I always will  
  
'Cause you're the only one for me~*~  
  
Rouge lifts her head up from his shoulder and glazed into his eyes.  
  
~*~La la la la la la la la la~*~  
  
Knuckles found himself drawing in closer to Rouge's face.  
  
~*~La la la la la la la la la~*~  
  
Rouge also drew herself closer to Knuckles, as if hypnotize.  
  
~*~La la la la la la la la la~*~  
  
They were only a few centimeters apart...  
  
~*~La la la la la la la la la...~*~  
  
...When suddenly, a loud crash was heard, breaking them apart before their lips could meet. People screamed as a large fire monster burst through the ceiling, sanding debris on the ground below.  
  
"What?!" Knuckles yelled as the demon fire a blast from its mouth at a few helpless people; luckily, they got away before the blast made contact.  
  
Tarosamo barge through the double doors. Looking around for Knuckles and Rouge. He found them, staring at the fire demon. Rushing over to them, he called out, "Knuckles! Rouge!"  
  
They both turn to Tarosamo. "Tarosamo! What's going on here?" Rouge demanded, glaring at the demon, ruining her perfect moment!  
  
Tarosamo panted; obviously he ran the whole way there. "That's...Hornrista. One of Sameo's servants."  
  
"I could've guessed that..." Knuckles murmured, taking a fighting stance. It's going to be difficult fighting in s tux, and he left his sword back at the hotel! Well, it wasn't like he was going to use it anyway.  
  
Rouge was totally P'Oed. The demon was so gonna pay. But she wasn't going to fight in her new dress. That thing cost a fortune! She'll let the guys handle this one...  
  
"Rouge!" Marquis ran over to her, dodging the frantic people in the building. Parts of the building were already starting to catch on fire. "Rouge! Are you okay?" He gasps out as he finally made it to her.  
  
Rouge glanced at Marquis momentarily, than turning her attention back to the gigantic demon. "Marquis, you should get out of here."  
  
"Yes, and you should too!"  
  
Rouge shook her head, "Nope, I gotta make sure these guys don't get kill. Now, get out!" She demanded, pushing the tiger towards the exit before he could protest.  
  
"But Rouge!" Marquis try to object, but was dragged out by a few other people, who were running for their lives.  
  
Rouge sighed. "Men. They never listen." She ran back to where Knuckles and Tarosamo were fighting the demon.  
  
It spat out a few fire balls at the two. Knuckles dodged, nearly getting strike by one stray fire ball.  
  
Tarosamo jumped up, slashing his sword through the demon's arm, hardly doing any damage. He landed a few feet away from Knuckles. "My sword is hardly doing any damage!"  
  
Knuckles was about to punch the demon, but thought against it. I mean, it IS made of molted lava!  
  
Rouge watched them as they try to think of a way to defeat the demon. Tarosamo yelled over to Knuckles, "Sir Knuckles! We must lead the demon away from the city!"  
  
Knuckles nodded in agreement, glancing at Rouge, his eyes telling her to say here. Before he could see a reaction, he and Tarosamo ran out of the building, with Hornrista hot on their tails.  
  
Rouge was left alone in the disastrous place. She crossed her arms and glared at the door where Knuckles and Tarosamo left from. "If you think I'm going to just stay here and do nothing, you got another thing coming, Knuckles!" She ran out the door and followed the fire trails that the demon had left behind. No way are they leaving her like that! And plus, she has the element of water!  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
That's chapter eight for you. Review? Do I honestly have to ask? Lol, I hope you all enjoyed this one. I had a hard time in deciding the song...I loved this chapter! Anyway, until next chapter! Buh-bye! 


	9. Chapter 9

Declaimer: Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...Wished I owned 'em....zzzzz....but I don't....*snore* zzzzz....  
  
Author Notes: Zzzzzzzzz....ugh, huh? Oh! Shouldn't be asleep on the job! Anyhow, here's chapter nine for everyone who's been waiting for it! Yay!  
  
And sorry about the last chapter, I just had to do that...Good things come to those who wait, ne? Anyhow, enjoy this chapter!  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Knuckles ran along side Tarosamo with that blasted demon not far behind. He quickly glanced around for a clearing where no civilization would be. After running for a good little while, they were finally far away from civilization for anyone to get harm. Knuckles was ready to tear his suit up, but he knew Rouge wouldn't like that. YOU try running in a tuxedo! I don't see how Tuxedo Mask can do it...Uh, carry on!  
  
They stopped and turned around to face the advancing fire demon, ready for attack. "How are we going to kill it if we can't even take any damage off?" Knuckles asked his companion.  
  
Hornrista blew hot rolling flames at the two. They scattered, as the flames brunt the grass around there.  
  
Tarosamo thought for a moment, having no idea really. The demon slashed its tail at the two, nearly smacking them into the trees.  
  
"Hey, guys! Forgetting something?" The two, including the demon, turned around to see Rouge smirking at them, still in her shimmering dress.  
  
Knuckles eyes widen, "Rouge! I told you to stay put!"  
  
Rouge shook her head, "Not really, anyway, I never listen to echidnas." She winked at him.  
  
The red echidna growled, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Just in case you've forgotten, Knuckles, I have the element of water." Her grin grew wider.  
  
Hornrista nervously looked at her, sweating a bit. That's not a good thing for him.  
  
Tarosamo smack his head, "That's right! Rouge, could you use the water stone on him?"  
  
Rouge nodded, pulling the blue stone out from a, uh, sub-dimensional pocket. "Of course!" She looked at the stone, "Now, what would be a good name for a water attack...?" She thought. "Um...Forgotten Storm...nah...Useless Whirlwind? Nope..."  
  
Knuckles nervously glanced from Rouge to the fire demon. "Uh, anytime today, Rouge..."  
  
Rouge snapped her fingers, "Ha! I got the perfect one!" She turned to the fire demon, "Prepare to lose, demon! Knucklehead Doomsday!" Everyone sweat dropped. Rouge smiled sheepishly, "Hey, can't blame me, can you?" Going back to destroying the demon, Rouge held the stone out it at. A few seconds pass and nothing happen. "Uh, is this thing broken?" She asked, shaking. After a few more seconds, a blast of water finally shot from the stone, nearly knocking Rouge off balance. The blast it Hornrista head on.  
  
It roared as the water put out its flames. Rouge grinned as the stone slowly turned off. "Now I'm sure y'all can take it out easily!"  
  
They nodded; attacking the demon, now that it's cooled off, taking damage off was a snitch. I'm not gonna describe how they did it, just know that a lot of kicking, punching, slashing, and water was involve. ^_^ (Use your imagination! The sky's your limit!)  
  
After the battle, the fire demon fell to the ground, causing a small earthquake. The three stood over it, grinning victorious. They looked at the demon as it disappeared from sight and left in it spot was a piece of the Master Emerald. Knuckles walked over and picked it up.  
  
"Well, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Rouge said, glancing at Knuckles suit as he put the shard away. "Oh no! Knuckles! You're suit is totally ruin!" Rouge exclaimed. The once white lovely tuxedo was now black with a few holes in it.  
  
Knuckles looked down at himself, "Uh, sorry?"  
  
The bat sigh, "Now what am I going to do? That suit cost me six hundred dollars!"  
  
"Uh, we could always just get it clean and repair..." He was interrupted as cheering was heard in the distance, turning, the three saw a large group of people, cheering for...them?  
  
A man dressed in a business like suit walked up to the three animals. "Bonjour! I am Mayor Russell. I, along with my fellow citizens, like to thank you for saving us from that monstrous beast!" He turned to his citizens, "In honor of our guest, we shall hold a grand ball!" He turned back to them, "Will you be staying for a while?"  
  
The three exchange a look, and Rouge shrugged, "Sure, but not for too long, we have something to take care of."  
  
Mayor Russell smiled, "Ah! Thank you, once again, for saving my city. The ball will be held tomorrow, and you three are the quest of honor!" After he said that, he walked over to a large black limo that just pulled up; he got in, waving to them.  
  
Rouge grinned, "Great! Another ball, hopefully, this one wouldn't have a demon crashing it."  
  
Tarosamo glanced at his watch, "We should get going, it's almost 10 o'clock." Rouge and Knuckles nodded in agreement. They all left the clearing to head to their hotel.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Meanwhile  
  
Slice cautiously entered the temple. Night had finally covered the land and beautiful stars filled the sky. Slice was a little more than exhausted. "Black Light, when can we break? It's late and I'm tired!" She complained.  
  
'Stop complaining. You can't give up. The jewel is—' He stopped as he saw that Slice had fallen asleep on the ground. '—around here...great....' Sighing, he landed next to Slice sleeping form. 'Lord Sameo isn't going to like this, especially if we do not get that jewel soon...'  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
As soon as Knuckles and Rouge entered the hotel room, Knuckles plopped himself on the couch, more than a little exhausted (Didn't I say that about Slice...? :-\). Today have been one crazy day, traveling through a forbidden forest, meeting a toad, acquiring a strange sword, going through a underground dungeon/tunnel, fighting a giant rat, ending up in Paris, France, going to a masquerade, fighting a giant fire demon, and meeting the mayor. Knuckles sighed. 'What a day...at least I got a piece of the Master Emerald back...' He took out the piece and looked at it.  
  
Rouge was equally exhausted and glad to be able to rest for the night. She yawned, "I'm going to jump in the shower." Than she realized something, she doesn't have any extra clothes. And the clothes she usually wore were too dirty to put on. Rouge checked the closet, hoping that there was a spear in there. To her relief, there was something. She pulled it out of the closet and closed the door, looking it over. It was a blue sleeveless dress, something to sleep in. And as incredible it may seem; it was her size. O.o She shrugged it off, and headed to the bathroom, quickly looking at Knuckles, "And don't you dear try to peek." She smirked, quickly going into the bathroom before Knuckles could reply back.  
  
"You wish bat-girl!" Knuckles called back, with a smirk of his own. He placed the emerald shard on the table and grabbed the television remote that rested on the glass coffee table. He flipped through the channels, hearing Rouge turn on the water. Instead of watching television, though, his mind was on other things. Of course, these "other things" was the bat in the other room. Who else would he be thinking of? Certainly not Tarosamo. That's just not right...Oh, ahem...  
  
He thought back to that Masquerade. His lips were so close in connecting to hers. Ugh! This was getting frustrating. He was already at fault for falling in love with her in the first place. Something than occurred to him. He and Rouge were in a hotel room, alone. There's one bed, and he for sure as heck doesn't want to sleep on the couch...maybe he could...ACK! Stop thinking that Knuckles! This fic is rated PG! Keep it there! (Phew, that was close! ^_^ If that thought was completed, I would probably had to raise the rating of this fic by three ratings. :-\ Well...this fic was PG, now it's PG-13...)  
  
Knuckles sweat dropped and went back to his previous thoughts. Maybe he could share the bed with her. It is a king size bed... and they both will have more than enough room... (Oh...that was what you were thinking...okay, carry on!) And plus, sleeping on the couch gives him backaches.  
  
After starring at the TV screen for Lord knows how long out of boredom, the bathroom door finally opened. Knuckles glanced at the clock, it was already 12 o'clock! "Took you long enough..." Knuckles trailed off as he looked at the bat.  
  
Rouge was already heading to bed in the nightgown. She plopped up on the pillow and looked at the echidna with a smile, "You know, you don't really have to sleep on the couch. The bed is big enough for the both of us." Rouge slightly moved over to give the echidna more room.  
  
He looked at her and nervously turned the television off, making his way to the bed. The lighting was dim as only the two lamps were on. Knuckles jumped on the bed, thankful that it wasn't a water bed...bad experience.  
  
Rouge smiled, turning the lamp off on her side, Knuckles doing the same. "Good night, Rouge."  
  
"Night Knux. Better not try anything." She smirked, turning over on her side, her back facing the read echidna.  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes and turn over as well, his back to Rouge's. In a few minutes, they both were sound asleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rouge opened her eyes to find that she wasn't in the bed anymore. 'What? Where am I?' She thought, looking around her surroundings. She could barely see anything, a thick fog surrounded her. "Knuckles?" She asked, hoping that the red echidna would step out from the thickness of the fog. No such luck.  
  
A slight chuckling was heard from behind. Rouge spun around, but saw nothing. "Who's there?"  
  
The chuckling continued for a good minute. It sounded as if it was coming from all directions and nowhere at the same time. Rouge was beginning to get a little more than ticked off.  
  
"Show yourself you creep! Sneaking up on a lady, shame on you!" Rouge crossed her arms and glared at nothing.  
  
The chuckling ceased as a voice started to speak, "All will be reveal, soon enough, dear Rouge."  
  
Rouge gasped. That voice! It was unmistakably Sameo's. But why was he terrorizing her dreams?  
  
"To answer that question, Rouge, I am here to give you a message." He said, reading her thoughts. "In here, dear, I am in control. I can read your thoughts. It may be your dream, but it's my world!" The voice boomed, laughing.  
  
Rouge was slightly frighten, what did he wanted?  
  
"The message that I am sending is quite simple; I now have possess of the Jewel of Darkness, and in order to stop me, you need the jewel oppose to the Jewel of Darkness.  
  
"You mean...the Jewel of Light?" She asked.  
  
She could tell he was smirking, she could hear it in his voice as he speaks. "Yes. But first, I think I'll have some fun with you." Suddenly the ground she was on started to shake violently as she was tossed backwards, landing on her hands and knees.  
  
"What's going on here?!" The ground around her started to crack and crumble beneath her. The whole floor gave way except for a small piece, which she was sitting on. She glanced over to her side and down below to see nothing but a lava pit. She blinked for a moment and once she reopened her eyes, she was no longer on that piece of ground, but on a beam. The same beam she was on during that fight with Knuckles. "What...?"  
  
Sameo laughed, "Seems familiar, darling?"  
  
There. There he was. The red echidna she found herself falling for. But something was different about this Knuckles. He was a darker red, more of a maroon color. But what stood out the most were his eyes. They were so dark, so lifeless. She quickly closed her eyes. There was no way that he was her Knuckles. This was only a dream! Just a dream...than why did it felt so real? Sameo was only playing a trick on her! She knew it, but....  
  
The Knuckles before her grinned evilly, cracking his neck from side to side, taking a few steps closer to the fallen bat. Rouge quickly scrambled away, finding herself backed up against a beam.  
  
The dream Knuckles was ready to strike as Rouge tightly shut her eyes. She had no control over her dreams. Sameo was in control now. For all she knew, she could die right than and there.  
  
That was when she heard it. Her name being called. It was faint, but defiantly there.  
  
Rouge...Rouge...Rough!  
  
Everything around her faded into nothingness as she started coming to.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Rouge! Rouge! Wake up!" Knuckles gently shook the tossing bat.  
  
Rouge eyes snapped opened as she shot up in bed. "Knuckles?" She blinked a few times, looking at the echidna.  
  
Knuckles eyes were filled with worriment and concern, "Rouge, are you okay?"  
  
Rouge slightly nodded, "Ye—yes...It was just a nightmare..."  
  
"Really? What about? You can tell me anything, Rouge." He smiled reassuring.  
  
Rouged nodded again with a slight smile, she knows she could tell him anything, "Sameo was there. He...he told me that he has the Jewel of Darkness and the only way for us to stop him is with the Jewel of Light."  
  
"What? Rouge, it was only a dream. This weird adventure is probably just taking its tow on you." Knuckles said in comfort.  
  
The white bat shook her head, "No...it seemed so real..."  
  
Knuckles gently pushed Rouge back into the pillow. "Don't worry about it. Go back to sleep."  
  
Rouge allowed him to push her back. "Okay...thanks Knuckles."  
  
He shrugged it off, "For what?"  
  
Rouge hugged him, nuzzling his chest, "For being there." And with that, she fell back into a dreamless slumber.  
  
Knuckles stared at her in confusion with a slight blush. He nervously wrapped his arms around the woman and fell asleep as well.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Aw! That's so cute!" Someone shouted. Voices surrounded the two sleeping in the bed.  
  
"Shhh! You'll wake 'em!" Said another, this time, male.  
  
"Aw...I wished I had my camera!" the first voiced said again.  
  
Rouge slowly opened her eyes, wondering where those voices were coming from.  
  
"They're wakin' up!" Said a third voice, a kid.  
  
Rouge rose from the bed, rubbing her eyes. She looked around the room to see three faces looking at her. She let out a shout, "Ah! What are you three doing in here?"  
  
Knuckles jumped up when he heard Rouge shout. "What? Sonic! What are you doing here?"  
  
Standing in the room were Sonic, Amy, and Tails. Amy giggled at the two blushing faces. "You two are so cute together!"  
  
Sonic grinned, "Yeah. And as for how we got in here, that weird looking echidna let us in."  
  
"Oh...but why are you here?" Rouge asked.  
  
Tails frowned, "Well, you've been gone for a few days, Knuckles, and we were kinda worry. Than I remembered that you said something about coming to Paris, so I did some research and track you to this Hotel, in Paris." Tails explained.  
  
Amy clasped her hands together, looking at Sonic, "Yeah, the city of looooove! Isn't this romantic, Sonic?"  
  
Sonic gulped, "Uh, yeah..." He soon turned to the echidna and bat, "So...did you...?"  
  
"NO!" They shouted before he could finish, embarrassed.  
  
Sonic rose his hands up in defense, "Okay, okay, I was only askin'..."  
  
Tarosamo than entered the room to save the two from further embarrassment. Knuckles glared at him, "You mind telling me why you let them in our room?"  
  
The other echidna only smirked, "Well, they said that they were looking for you, so I told them where you were and got a spare key. If I known that you two would've further your relationship, I wouldn't have let them in."  
  
"Stop thinkin' that!" Rouge yelled, really embarrassed now. She jumped out of bed, still dressed in that nightgown.  
  
Sonic whistle, "I knew Rouge had a body, but damn!" Both Amy and Knuckles glared at the hedgehog. Amy pulled out her Piko-Piko Hammer and smacked him in the head. "Ouch! What was that for? I was only complimenting!"  
  
Rouge tried covering herself up, "Pervert!"  
  
"I'm not a perv...I mean; you are the one jumping around half naked!" Sonic snickered, "And you slept with Knuckles in that? Wow, Knux-man. If y'all didn't 'do it', than you must REALLY have some strong will-power! Or you could be gay..."  
  
Knuckles growled, "Get out!" He pointed to the door.  
  
Sonic grinned, "Don't haveta tell me twice, I'll leave you two alone!" Sonic walked out the door, waving to them. Amy smiled apologetically and followed her true blue hero, who deserves a date with the Piko-Piko Hammer...Tails blushed at what just occurred and ran after the two.  
  
Tarosamo just stood there, raised eyebrow, and arms crossed.  
  
Knuckles glared at him, "That means you too..."  
  
"Oh, really? I believe we have some matters to discuss."  
  
"Well, could we discuss them later?" Asked Rouge, still covering up.  
  
Tarosamo shrugged, "Rouge, I took the responsibility in getting your clothes clean." He handed her a small bag.  
  
Rouge grabbed the bag. "You took my clothes?"  
  
Tarosamo stared at her for a moment. Than turned bright red, "No! Uh, I just thought you needed something clean..."  
  
Rouge grinned, "Suuuure..." She was about to jump up when she realized that Tarosamo still haven't left. "Uh, privacy?"  
  
Tarosamo left the room. Rouge sighed in relief, than turned to Knuckles who was deep in thought. "You can leave too, you know." She hinted.  
  
Knuckles stared at her, "Why? I already saw you in that gown...I practically saw you in nothing!" Well, that earned a slap. "Okay, I deserved that..." Rouge rolled her eyes, pointing to the door. Knuckles sighed, "Fine, fine..."  
  
Rouge smiled, "Don't worry Knuxie. If I had the choice, I let you stay and watch me stripe." She winked at him.  
  
Knuckles blushed and quickly left the room in record timing, grabbing the shard on his way out.  
  
Rouge laughed, "I knew that'll get him." She took the clothes out of the bag and went to changed.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
That was weird....Anyway, I decided to have the other characters come along in this wacky adventure. I hope y'all like. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
The gang was lounging around in the lobby, waiting for Rouge to finish changing. Sonic was getting impatient. Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest. "How long have you been here?" He asked them.  
  
Sonic grinned, "Aren't you at least glad to see us, Knuckles? Some friend you are...Anyway, we just arrived before you and *snicker* Rouge woke up."  
  
"How do you expect to help us find these jewels?" The red echidna asked, looking at the three of them.  
  
Tails shrugged, "We don't know, but we do what we can! What are friends for?" He smiled at the echidna.  
  
Knuckles turned slightly away, "This is my responsibility. I don't want to have you guys involved in it."  
  
Sonic smirked, "Yeah, I understand, you just wanna be alone with Rouge s'more, right?"  
  
Knuckles growled as the others laughed, "Shut up, hedgehog!"  
  
"Do you boys ever stop fighting?" Rouge asked once she came down the stairs.  
  
Amy smiled at her friend, "You know those two..."  
  
Tails than decided to bring back up the task at hand, "So, what are we gonna do about those jewels?"  
  
Knuckles crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "You guys aren't going to doing anything."  
  
Rouge shook her head, "Knuckles, it may be wise to let them help us out a bit, what do you say, Tarosamo?"  
  
Tarosamo wasn't exactly sure. If they did come, that would mean more training, more teaching, and he really didn't felt like doing all that. But on the other hand, they could prove quite useful and defeating Sameo might not take as long as he thought. Tarosamo finally nodded, "I suppose that a little more help would be needed."  
  
Knuckles frowned, looks like he was out numbered here. He sighed, "Fine."  
  
Sonic grinned, "Don't worry, Knux, we won't get in your way when you wanna be alone with Rouge!" Sonic ran, for he knew that the red echidna was going to do something to him if he stayed any longer.  
  
"Sonic! Get back here!" Knuckles yelled, chasing at the hedgehog as the others laughed. They soon ran after them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
'Wake up!' Black Light fluttered in front of the sleeping bat. He wished he had hands so he could slap her awake.  
  
"Snoooooooooore...." Was the reply he got.  
  
Black Light frowned, he hated being a butterfly. In fact, he wasn't always a butterfly. He was once a beautiful black panther. Oh, how he missed his formal form. How he missed climbing the tall trees, swimming in the lakes, hunting. He was cursed. Destine to be a butterfly forever. He shook the memory out of his head. 'Slice, wake up.' He tried one last time, feeling out of energy.  
  
Slice stirred a little, opening her eyes. She yawned, "What time is it?"  
  
Black Light shrugged, 'According to the position of the sun, I'll say around 7:30.'  
  
Slice stood up, "Oh...well, I guess we could get going. Come on, butterfly."  
  
Black Light sighed, depressed, though Slice really couldn't tell. He never told Slice about his pass. She doesn't need to know, she wouldn't understand. And Black Light wasn't that conformable in telling her his secret.  
  
"So, how far do you think this jewel is?" Slice broke him out of his thoughts.  
  
'I don't know...' He answered. Slice noticed something was wrong with her insect companion.  
  
"Are you okay, Light?" She asked with concern in her voice. She only known the butterfly for maybe a few days and could already read him like a book, although he is a butterfly.  
  
Black Light shrugged, or what she thought was a shrug. 'I'm fine. Let's just go.'  
  
The bat said nothing and continued her way though the temple. She wasn't too far from the entrance. All seemed calmed enough, nothing too much was happening. She walked, cautiously, expecting anything to happen. After ten minutes and with nothing happening, she loosened up a bit. Unexpectedly, a rumble was heard. Twitching her ears, Slice turned to Black Light, "What is that?"  
  
Black Light said nothing, but stared behind her. Slice curiously turned around to see a large boulder rolling towards her. "That can't be good..." She swiftly grabbed Black Light and dashed away, with the large boulder chasing her. Her feet were moving so fast, jumping over small objects, dodging a few obstacles. Up ahead was a large hole in the ground. Slice, still running, took a deep breath and jumped, using her wings to help her glide over. She landed on the other side. Turning around, she watched as the large boulder disappeared into the darkness of the hole. She sighed in relief, releasing the butterfly. "That was close..."  
  
Black Light stared at her. 'Uh, thanks...for saving me...back there...' He thanked, somewhat ashamed.  
  
Slice shrugged it off. "No problem. You owe me, though."  
  
Black Light said nothing. He was thinking. Unfortunately for him, these pass few days, he found himself falling in love with the bat. Sad thing about it was that she will not be able to love him in return, not that she would anyway. He was mad at himself for letting something like this happen. He's not capable of love; that word shouldn't even be in his dictionary. 'Now what do I do?'  
  
Slice turned to the butterfly, "You said something, Light?"  
  
Black Light eyes widen, he didn't mean for her to hear him! 'Uh, no! Ahem...the jewel is just up ahead, I believe...'  
  
"You've been saying that since we've started." Slice was growing quite annoyed.  
  
'Well, this time, it is—' The butterfly was cut off by an arrow shooting pass him and Slice. 'ACK! Slice, take cover!' The butterfly hid himself behind Slice, grabbing onto her neck.  
  
Slice rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She swiftly ran, dodging arrow after arrow. "Where are these arrows coming from?"  
  
Black Light, still hiding on Slice's back, explained, 'They are coming from little holes in the wall. Watch out, there are thousands!'  
  
Slice groan, "This is just great! Ugh, this better be worth it!" She kept dodging the arrows, coming to a dead end. She skidded to a halt, "Now what?!" Turning around, she stared as one arrow was about to make contact with her face. "Oh no..." But before it could make contact, the floor under Slice's feet opened into a small door, dropping her down. The arrow smashed right into the wall.  
  
"AHHH!!!" Slice continued to fall through a dark tunnel. It was a long ways down before she made contact with the ground. "Ouch!" She yelped, rubbing her sore behind once she stood up. "That wasn't too fun..." She glanced around, but all she could see was pitch blackness. "Light, where are we?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Uh, Light? Where are you? I hope I didn't squish him...that wouldn't be too good..." Slice glanced around, hoping she could get a glimpse of the butterfly, but she doubt it, considering that she was surrounded by darkness and that Black Light was dark himself.  
  
'Slice! I'm still up here, are you okay down there?!' The butterfly yelled from above. Slice could barely hear him.  
  
"Light! You just left me to still up there?! That's rude!" Slice crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.  
  
'Sorry, I'll come down there than!'  
  
After a few short minutes, Slice felt something soft land on her nose. "About time, now where are we?"  
  
Black Light thought for a moment, 'I think this is the path that leads to the jewel! Shouldn't be far now.'  
  
Slice rolled her eyes, "Like I haven't heard that one before."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Knuckles finally calmed down and decided not to kill Sonic (yet). The group made their way through the city. Rouge was explaining to them about the party the mayor was throwing for them for defeating Hornrista.  
  
Sonic was more than ready to go, "Great! I've been meanin' to do some partyin' anyway."  
  
Amy smiled at Sonic as she entered dream world, "Oh, Sonic! And we can dance all night long!"  
  
Sonic looked at her nervously, "Or maybe not."  
  
Tails was talking to the mysterious echidna, "So, Tarosamo, what can you tell me about that dragon we saw, Sameo?"  
  
Tarosamo glanced at the kid, Sonic and Amy also turned their attention to Tarosamo, while Rouge and Knuckles just waited patiently, since they already knew about that demon lord. "As I told Rouge and Knuckles, Sameo was placed in the Earth's crust for eternal rest. The Master Emerald was shattered, causing a piece to plummet into the Earth, awaking him. He's very powerful, and will prove difficult to beat. I've been teaching Rouge and Knuckles a few techniques to defeat his demons. He has one demon for each element, fire, water, wind, and earth, among other minor demons. The Master Emerald, if place on or inside his creatures, he increase their speed, strength, and everything else, making it nearly invincible." Tarosamo explained.  
  
Tails thought for a moment, "Hmm...why does he want these jewels, than?"  
  
"He wants the Joya de la Oscuridad, or Jewel of Darkness to take control of the World."  
  
Sonic snorted, "Typical. Everyone's out for world domination it seems."  
  
"What exactly is the Jewel of Darkness, Tarosamo?" Amy asked.  
  
Knuckles was growing quite impatient, "Could we get going, now?"  
  
"I'll explain more on the way." Tarosamo stated as they started walking. "The Jewel of Darkness is the most powerful jewel ever created, with an incomparable power. If Sameo get the jewel, your world is doom."  
  
Tails quickly caught on to something he said, "What do you mean by 'your' world?"  
  
The echidna glanced around, "To be honest...I'm not exactly from here."  
  
"So, that explains why you just pop outta nowhere when Sameo appeared!" Rouge exclaimed.  
  
Amy than asked, "Where are you from, than?"  
  
Tarosamo sighed, "I'm from a different sector, parallel to your own. Sameo originally came from my sector; he was exile by our lord. They sealed him away, and he landed in the Earth's crust. That was centuries ago."  
  
Knuckles crossed his arms, glaring at the echidna, "So, you've been lying to us from the very beginning, huh? Than how do you know my father?"  
  
"You knew Knuckles' father?" Sonic asked, curious.  
  
Tarosamo nodded to Sonic, than answered Knuckles question, "Knuckles, your father was born on the planet Echidnoplios. The planet was under attack by the time you were born; they fled and landed here on Earth."  
  
"That explains a lot." Rouge commented, looking over to Knuckles, "How do you know all this, Taro?"  
  
"I was Knuckles' father bodyguard and advisor." He explained.  
  
Sonic smirked, "Why did Knuckles pop needed a bodyguard? If he was anything like Knuckles, he's better off without one!"  
  
Tarosamo was quiet for a while, wondering if he should go on. He already disrupted poor Knuckles life as it was, but, than again, he needed to know. "Knuckles' father was king of Echidnoplios."  
  
Everyone gasped, and looked to Knuckles, who was equally shock. Knuckles...a prince?!  
  
Knuckles shook his head, "There is no way that my father could've been a king, of a planet, no less!"  
  
Tarosamo knew Knuckles wasn't going to take it well. He was about to say something when Rouge interrupted him, "You mean to tell me that Knuckles is a prince of an entire planet? Who would've guessed!" Rouge gave Knuckles a once over.  
  
Their little discussion was interrupted once more by a new voice coming in, "Hey! Are you three Knuckles, Rouge, and Tarosamo?"  
  
They all turned around to see a young man running towards the group. "It depends who's asking?" Rouge said looking at the guy.  
  
The man shook his head, "I'm here to tell you about the ball that is in your honor."  
  
"What about the ball?" Sonic asked, he was quiet long enough.  
  
The man looked at him, "You're Sonic the Hedgehog!"  
  
Sonic smirked, "The one and only!"  
  
Amy sighed dreamily, "My one and only!" She threw her arms around him, kicking her left leg up.  
  
"Amy! Not now!" Sonic pulled her off of him.  
  
The man also turned to the small two-tailed fox, "And you! You're Miles Prower!"  
  
Tails blushed as the man said his real name, "Actually, I'm Tails."  
  
"Wow, this sure is an event! Sonic the Hedgehog is actually here! And the boy genius Tails! The ones who stopped Doctor Robotnic from destroying the Earth two years ago! It sure is an honor to have finally met you!" He grabbed both Tails and Sonic's hand, shaking frantically.  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes; it wasn't like THEY were the only ones who saved the world, "What about the ball?"  
  
The man finally released the two hands. "Oh! I forgot. The ball will be held at 7 o'clock on 22nd street, a block from the large shopping center." With that said, the man ran off to somewhere.  
  
"Well, that was interesting." Sonic said, watching the man disappear from sight.  
  
Rouge looked at her watch, "its 5:34. We have some time to kill. We should come up with a plan in finding the Jewel of Darkness."  
  
Tarosamo agreed, "A plan is needed to defeat Sameo. We can't rush in blind- folded."  
  
"We've been here for two days now, nowhere close to that stupid jewel. What makes you think that they haven't found it already?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"If they found it, you will know." Tarosamo simply stated before walking off.  
  
Amy shuddered, "That echidna sure is weird."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hmm...They have no idea what's going to happen. While they're in town, partying, Slice is closer to finding the jewel. What will happen? Only one way to find out! Stay tune for Chapter eleven! Review and tell me how you like it so far! Tata! 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
  
It was now 7:01 and the gang found themselves standing in front of another large building. The doorman allowed them into the suite. Once they were in, they were greeted by the Mayor himself. A lot of people gathered around them, excited to have finally met some heroes (and heroines).  
  
Sonic and the gang were swept with cameras and such. Knuckles growled, everyone always love Sonic! It was Sonic this and Sonic that! What about Knuckles? No one ever notice the red echidna!  
  
Rouge noticed how angry Knuckles was. She made her way through the tough crowd. "Knuckles? What's wrong with you?"  
  
He growled as he walked away, Rouge following behind. They found themselves standing on an opened balcony, over-looking the ocean. The sun was now setting in the horizon. Knuckles rested a hand on the railing; head bowed low, glazing at the ocean.  
  
"Knuckles, you mind telling me what got you so angry?"  
  
The echidna sighed, "No, not really."  
  
Rouge frowned, turning her head to look at the crowd that surrounded the gang. "I could probably guess, but I much rather hear it from you." Knuckles said nothing, Rouge sighed, "You're jealous of Sonic, aren't you?"  
  
The red echidna turned an eye on her. He was about to denial it, but found that he couldn't lie to her, taking a deep breath and releasing it, he finally said, "I guess...Sonic always get the fame. They never realize that Sonic has help. Never recognize the small people that have as equally big parts as he. He gets everything. We were the ones that stopped that fire demon from destroying the city. Sometimes I wish that someone would recognize me." He finished, not looking at her. He was embarrassed in confessing that much to her. He then felt something on his hand, and looked up to see that it was Rouge's hand that was place on his.  
  
She smiled at her, "Someone does recognize you, Knuckles. And you do have something that he doesn't."  
  
Knuckles looked at her in confusion, "What's that?"  
  
"Me." And with that, she pulled him into a deep passionate kiss. At first, Knuckles was shocked, didn't know what to do, then he responded, deepening the kiss. The kiss was sweet, indescribable, something that neither of them ever felt in their entire lives.  
  
Someone let out a wolf whistle from behind them. Breaking off, they saw Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Tarosamo watching them. Sonic grinned. "Wow, Knuckles. Never thought I'd see the day when you actually kiss a girl! Come on, guys, lets leave these two alone!" Sonic and the rest left to enjoy the party.  
  
Knuckles blushed as Rouge only grinned. She turned back to him, and whispered in his ear, "I love you, Knuckles."  
  
Knuckles blushed deepen, he's been waiting so long to hear those words emerge from her lips (actually, 11 chapters long!). He smiled, and kissed her on the lips again, "I love you too." After sharing another quick kiss, the two headed towards the party, happier than they ever could imagine.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sameo grinned at what just occurred. "This makes everything more interesting! Knuckles may have that one shard, but I have more, and soon, I'll have the Jewel of Darkness! You can't beat me, Knuckles...even with the help of your little friends."  
  
Giles entered the room, seeing his lord talking to himself. "Milord, who are you talking to?"  
  
Sameo glared at him, "You dare to question me?! Get out, before I turn you into a doormat!"  
  
Giles hurriedly left the room; he doesn't want to be a doormat anytime soon in this lifetime.  
  
Sameo turned back to his viewing portal. "Hahaha...this will be a most memorable party."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Slice and Black Light have been traveling in the dark for over twenty minutes. Slice was glad that she was a bat, or else she'll be running into everything. She was thinking. 'This is getting ridiculous. I shouldn't be doing this! This is all that Rouge's fault. Ugh!' She was so angry that she wasn't watching where she was going and tripped over a stone. "Ah!" She fell and landed on a small switch that was on the ground, turning on some light.  
  
'Slice! Are you okay?'  
  
Slice stood up, dusting herself off, "Yeah, I guess so. I must've landed on a switch to activate the lights or something." She looked in front of her to see a golden steel door with the face of a lion on it. "What's this?" She asked, reaching a hand to the door. Before she could touch it, the lion face started to move, forming a real lion. Its eyes glow a bright red.  
  
"Who disturbs my rest?" It roared, glaring at Slice.  
  
Slice quickly withdraws her hand. "It talks!" She said startled. Black Light hid behind the bat.  
  
The door lion was drawing inpatient, "Who disturbs my rest?" It asked again.  
  
"Uh...I'm Slice the Bat..." Slice stuttered.  
  
"What purpose do you have here?"  
  
"To...to retrieve the jewel of...darkness..."  
  
It stayed silent for a moment, than said, "To obtain access to the room, you must answer three riddles."  
  
Slice groan, "Three riddles?"  
  
"If you answer them all correctly, you can enter. But answer them wrong, the attack would be fatal."  
  
Slice gulped, she hoped that they are easy. Sighing, she said, "Fine. What are they?"  
  
"The first is: I sleep by day, I fly by night. I have no feathers to aid my flight. What am I?"  
  
Slice thought for a moment, "Um...oh! I know this one, you are a bat! That's easy!"  
  
The lion roared, "Correct."  
  
Slice grinned, "Maybe this won't be so hard after all."  
  
Black Light landed on her shoulder, 'I doubt it. The last one is always the most difficult."  
  
She sighed, "Just ruin it for me, why don't you."  
  
The door lion continued with the next riddle. "The next is: I start with an 'E' and end with an 'O'. I'm a sound that repeats. I bounce back and grow. When you say "hello", I say, "hel-lo-lo-lo". What can I possibly be? Do you know?"  
  
Slice grinned again, "Oh! That's an easy one too! You're an echo!"  
  
"Correct. The last is: What does man love more than life, fear more than death or mortal strife, what the poor have, the rich require, and what contented men desire, what the miser spends and the spendthrift saves, and the men carry to their graves?"  
  
Slice thought for a moment, "Oh man...what is it?"  
  
Black Light whispered something in her ear. She glanced at him through the cornered of her eyes, "You sure?" The butterfly only stared at her. She sighed, turning back to the door. "Is it...nothing?"  
  
It was silence for a moment before a clicking noise echo throughout the area. The door silently opened, "You may enter..." It said for the last time as it eyes dimmed out and it turned back to normal.  
  
Slice entered the dark room, "Well, that was easier than I thought."  
  
Black Light agreed, still resting on her shoulder. 'Yeah, the jewel should be in this room.'  
  
"Where's the light switch?" Slice asked, glancing around the room. It was pitch black inside and she could hardly see, even though she is a bat. A noise suddenly reached her ears. It sounded like...breathing? Real deep breathing..."Light...you hear that?"  
  
'Oh no...That must be...' Before he could finish, the lights turned on, blinding Slice.  
  
Once Slice eyes adjusted to the new flow of light, she glanced around her surroundings. She was in a large hollow room. At the other end of the room rested a pedestal and on the pedestal Slice could make out a shiny black object. "That must be the Jewel of Darkness!" She was about to run to it when a giant beast jumped in from of her. "AHH!" She fell back, landing hard on her tail.  
  
The beast resembles that of a dog with three heads and looked as if it was made out of stone. It was at least 10 feet tall and towered high above Slice, protecting the jewel.  
  
"What on Earth is that?!" Slice demanded, backing away from it.  
  
'That's Mastred!' Black Light shouted over the roar of the guard dog.  
  
"Mastred?" She echoed, looking at the beast.  
  
The butterfly flew beside Slice, 'Yes, he is the guardian of the jewel!'  
  
Slice groaned, "Just great! How am I to get that jewel now? AH!" She jumped out of the way as the beast giant paw nearly came down on her.  
  
Black Light tried to think of a way when an idea hit him, 'Slice, I'll distract him while you grab the jewel!'  
  
"Are you nuts, Light? That's a suicide mission!"  
  
Black Light already flew up to the beasts' face. 'Just grab it!'  
  
Mastred turned his attention from Slice and started snapping at the butterfly that flew around his head, in this case, heads.  
  
Slice reluctantly ran to the pedestal which held the Joya de la Oscuridad. It was an attractive jewel, one of the most attractive ones she ever seen in her life. It was completely black and shine with an indescribable beauty. She slowly grabbed it with both hands. Pulling it off the pedestal it once rested upon, she stepped back. Finally, she got the jewel...now she can go home.  
  
Before she could leave, though, the pedestal begins to sink down as a rumble shook the room. Large rocks fall from the ceiling, smashing to the ground. Slice held the jewel close to her chest as she made a mad dash to the exit of the room. She gasped as Mastred fall down, nearing crashing on top of her, being hit by a large rock. She also noted that the door was slowly closing. 'Oh no!' She ran as fast she could to the closing door, making it just in time as it sealed shut, almost closing on her tail.  
  
Slice lead up against a wall, sighing in relief. "Phew...that was so close..." She said, than remembering her butterfly friend, "Black Light?" She asked, pushing herself off of the wall. "What if...what if he's still in there?!" She gasped, turning towards the sealed door. She felt sad, Black Light was...gone...Even though he may have been a butterfly, he was still a friend, and she hardly had any of those. She wanted to cry but didn't. She needed to be strong and give that blasted Sameo his stupid jewel.  
  
She slowly made her way out, heart broken. "Poor Light...this is my entire fault...if I wasn't so stupid...if I didn't have such a large grudge against Rouge...if I haven't teamed up with Sameo...you'll still be alive..." She sighed sadly, stopping in her tracks as a silent tear ran down her cheek. Slice was shocked and angrily brushed it away. What was her problem? She never cried! Especially for a butterfly she barely knew! I mean, for crying out loud, he was a butterfly! It's not right to have feelings for a creature such as that...was it? Slice shook her head...it couldn't be true. Not for a butterfly...a butterfly that no longer exits...She slumped against a wall, allowing the tears to flow, closing her eyes tightly. It's only been five minutes and she found herself missing that butterfly even more. "Black Light...I'm so sorry..."  
  
'Sorry for what?' A small voiced said not too far from her.  
  
Slice eyes snapped opened, "Black Light!?" She yelled, unsure if she was hearing things or not. She turned to her far left to see none other than the butterfly she was crying over moments before. "You're alive?!"  
  
Black Light unsteadily flew over to her. One of his wings were twisted badly and hurt with an incredible amount of pain. 'Of course. Why were you crying?'  
  
Slice quickly dried her eyes, blushing, "Uh...no reason...I'm glad you're alive!" She grabbed the insect, giving it a tiny hug.  
  
Black Light was confused, she was happy that he was alive? Slice place the butterfly on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asked him.  
  
The black butterfly slightly nodded, flinching as it wings moved. 'I'll survive, but my right wing is twisted.'  
  
Slice smiled, "I'll fix it once we get out of this place. C'mon, let's go." And with that, Slice, along with her butterfly friend went to give Sameo the jewel of darkness.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Short, eh, sorry for that! And sorry it took so long! 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
The party lasted well after midnight for the gang. Once it was over, the gang was all tired and ready to hit the sack. Unfortunately for Rouge and Knuckles, Sonic, Tails, and Amy needed a place to stay while they were there, so Amy suggested that she and Rouge could stay in Rouge's and Knuckles' room, while the guys roomed with Tarosamo, so she and Rouge could have a 'girls' talk. Of course, Tarosamo wasn't too happy about that, but didn't object.  
  
Amy sat on the bed, surrounded by dozens of pink suitcases. Rouge rolled her eyes, "Amy, do you really need all that stuff?"  
  
Amy smiled, "Yeah! You never know what might happen. I always come extra prepare!"  
  
"Well, mind clearing off the bed?" Rouge walked over to the bed as Amy started moving her things.  
  
"How come you didn't bring anything, Rouge?" The pink hedgehog asked as she pushed her suitcases under the bed.  
  
Rouge shrug, "Not much that I do need."  
  
Amy nodded, "Hey, Rouge..."  
  
"What is it, Amy?" Rouge was getting annoyed, all she wanted was sleep.  
  
Amy glanced around nervously, playing with the sheets, "Uh...how was it?"  
  
Rouge raised an eyebrow, "How was what?"  
  
"You know...when Knuckles kissed you...how was it?" Amy said, blushing. She was curious since she had never been kiss before.  
  
Rouge grinned, a dreamy look on her first, "It was, well, magical...nothing can really describe a kiss like that...Who would've thought that Knuckles knew how to kiss?"  
  
Amy giggled at that, "Do you think Sonic will kiss me one day?"  
  
Rouge winked, "I know he'll come around one day. You just got to give it time. Stop pushing yourself on him. He'll come around soon enough."  
  
"I hope so." Amy said before tucking under the covers, Rouge doing the same. "G'Night Rouge!"  
  
"'Night Amy." Rouge yawned before drifting off to sleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
In Tarosamo's room, the guys were having a similar discussion. Tarosamo let Knuckles have the bed since, after all, Knuckles IS his prince. Sonic was in a sleeping bag that he brought with him. Tails also had his own sleeping bag, and was fast asleep, and Tarosamo was knocked out on the couch.  
  
Sonic was grinning from ear to ear, "Man, Knux, I would've never known that YOU of all people would actually fall in love! And with your rival of all people!"  
  
Knuckles was too tired to do anything, he pulled the covers over his head to block out that hedgehog's annoying voice.  
  
Sonic didn't care, he still ranted on, "So, is she a good kisser? I always thought of her as one. Don't think I want to find out though. And when did you learn to dance? I always thought you had two left feet. And than that last dance—"  
  
Knuckles was growing red, "Sonic, shut up!" He threw a pillow at Sonic, smacking him in the face.  
  
"Ow! What was that for?" The hedgehog shouted, holding his nose.  
  
Knuckles turned back over, pulling the blanket over his head, "You talk too much, now go to sleep!" He growled through the sheets.  
  
Sonic sighed, "Fine. Night Knux." He went to sleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sameo was grinning as Slice entered his domain, with the black jewel, and Black Light fluttering behind. He quickly snatched the jewel from Slice's hand. "Ah! Finally! I now hold the power that will make this world mine!"  
  
Slice rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I quit. I got you the jewel, now can I leave?"  
  
Sameo glared at her, "I have no use for you now." He waved her off, "And as for you, Black Light, as promise, you can now regain your previous form."  
  
Black Light eyes lighten up. Slice glanced at the butterfly, "Previous form?"  
  
The butterfly nodded, 'I'll explain later.'  
  
Sameo grinned, "I'll turn you back, as soon as I get rid of wasted space. Slice, your services is no longer needed."  
  
Slice eyes widen as Sameo hand snapped in front of her, forming a small blast. Slice backed up. "Wha—what are you doing?!"  
  
Black Light eyes also widen, 'Lord Sameo! Don't kill her!'  
  
Sameo rolled his eyes, "Be quiet, insect. Do you want me to turn you back or not?"  
  
Black Light sighed in defeat, 'Yes...'  
  
Slice was furious, "You can't kill me! I got you that stupid jewel!"  
  
The dragon was getting tired with them. "I can do anything I want." And with that said, a blast shoots out from his hand hitting her square in the chest.  
  
"Ahhh!" Slice screamed as the blast made contact, crashing her into a wall. She fell down to the ground, unmoving. "And as for you, Black Light, I will return you to your previous form."  
  
Black Light said nothing as a light surrounded him. He closed his eyes as the light blinded the room. Once the light cleared, Black Light opened his eyes. He looked down at himself...instead of being a butterfly; he was now...a beautiful Black Panther. No longer did he have wings, but arms. He could touch the ground! Oh, how that felt good!  
  
Snapping out of it, he remembered Slice and hurriedly hushed over to her side. "Slice? Slice! What have you done to her?" It felt good to actually speak again, if it wasn't for the situation, he'll be dancing around.  
  
Sameo shrugged his shoulders, not caring. "She's gone. Don't worry about her."  
  
Black Light stood up, willing himself not to cry for the lost. He glared at Sameo, eyes narrowed. "I'll get you for this." He said; his voice deep and deadly.  
  
The dragon smirked, "You dare to challenge me? I don't have time for you. I hold the ultimate power!" He laughed his evil laugh.  
  
The Black Panther growled than charged at Sameo. Stupid mistake, Sameo raised his hand and Black Light stopped dead in his tracks. With a flick of his wrist, the panther went flinging into a nearby wall.  
  
He hit the wall creating a large dent and slid down to the floor. Sameo snorted, "Take them away." He ordered two of his minions that were watching. They quickly obeyed, grabbing the unconscious panther and bat.  
  
Sameo stood, grinning as he held the jewel in his hands. "Finally. Knuckles, prepare for the fight of your life! Muahahaha!" His evil laugh echoed throughout the dimension, sending shivers down whomever spine that heard his evil laughter.  
  
Rouge was tired to a chair in the same room, growling at Sameo. The dragon smiled at her. "Don't worry, Princess, your prince will be here soon enough!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was now morning in Paris; the sun was raising high above the horizon. People awoke happily, ready for the brand new day. Everyone awoke peacefully, except for a few certain animals.  
  
"Sonic! Time to wake up!!" Amy knocked on the door to the guys' room.  
  
Behind the door, the guys groan as the knocking got louder. Knuckles growled, putting his head under the pillow. He wasn't exactly a morning person...The knocking soon turned into banging.  
  
"Sonic! Get up! Open the door!" Amy yelled through the door.  
  
"Sonic, just go see what she wants..." Tails whined, annoyed that he was woken from his peaceful slumber.  
  
Sonic dug his head under his pillow, "No way..." His voice said, muffed by the pillow.  
  
Tarosamo was still sleeping peacefully, unaware of the banging on the door.  
  
"Sonic! Tell her to stop! She's your woman!" Knuckles demanded, getting frustrated with the banging.  
  
Sonic sighed, "Fine! Ugh!" He slowly got up from his sleeping bag and disgruntling trotted to the door, opening it, "What do you wa—OW! Amy!" Sonic held his head where Amy had hit him.  
  
"Oops! Sonic, I'm sooo sorry!" She apologized, wanting to bang on the door but hit Sonic instead.  
  
He sighed, rubbing his now sore head, "Its fine, Amy. What do you want?"  
  
Amy smiled sweetly, "Well, we should be getting ready to go, right? You know...to find that jewel?"  
  
Sonic cursed under his breath, "What time is it?"  
  
"Uh...7:40! The earlier the better! That's what Rouge said anyway." Amy said with a small smile.  
  
Knuckles hopped out of the door, his sleep was ruin anyway, "Where is Rouge?"  
  
The pink hedgehog thought, "Uh...I think she said that she was going to get a few things."  
  
"What? By herself? What if something happens to her?!" Knuckles exclaimed, grabbing his shoes and quickly putting them on.  
  
Amy once again smiled (people who smile a lot scares me...), "Rouge said don't worry, she'll be back ASAP!"  
  
Tails was putting his sleeping bag up, "Don't worry, Knuckles. Rouge can take care of herself. And, don't you think someone should wake up Tarosamo?" Tails glanced over at the still sleeping echidna. "Gosh, he could sleep through anything."  
  
Knuckles shrugged, "You wake him. I'm going to find Rouge."  
  
Sonic smirked, "Wow, Knuckles, for someone who only pretends to care for the Master Emerald sure worries a lot."  
  
"Sonic...do us all a favor and SHUT UP!" Knuckles yelled at the blue hedgehog who laughed.  
  
"As you wish, your highness." He mocked bow the echidna.  
  
"Whatever..." And rushed out the door to find the bat.  
  
Amy shook her head, staring at Sonic. Sonic stared back, "What?"  
  
She giggled, "You're so cute!"  
  
Sonic sighed, "Lord, help me..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Knuckles was now leaving the hotel, looking for the female bat. "Now...if I were Rouge, where would I be?" He glanced around the area for any place that may give him an idea on where the bat has gone. "A jewelry store? Worth a try." He jogged over to the jewelry store that was just opening up. Walking in, he glanced around, seeing no one in there but the cashier  
  
"Bonjour, comment peux-je vous aider?" The cashier greeted the echidna in his language.  
  
Now Knuckles wished he took that French class..."Have you seen a bat by any chance?" He asked, hoping that the cashier knew some English.  
  
"Non, je n'ai pas, désolé." The cashier replied back. He knew English, but didn't speak it.  
  
"Uh...is that a 'yes' or a 'no'?" Knuckles asked, confused. Now he REALLY wished he took that French class...  
  
The cashier shook his head to conform Knuckles specious. He sighed, "Thanks anyway." And left the store. "Now where would she be? I hope Sameo didn't find her..." He continued his search with no luck. After an hour of searching for Rouge, he saw a few familiar faces, which he hasn't seen since he started this weird adventure. He instantly paled. "Oh crude..." He quickly glanced around for a quick hiding spot, but was too late. They spotted him.  
  
"Hey! It's that red echidna!" One yelled. Yes...the bat minion...  
  
The bats all turned to Knuckles who had a panicked look on his face. "Please, lord, save me! I promise I'll never do wrong again!" Knuckles fell to his knees, praying towards the heavens above. Unfortunately for him, god was taking a vacation.  
  
The bats ran towards Knuckles. His eyes widen and he jumped up from his praying position and begins to run, but he wasn't fast enough...all ten bats grabbed him.  
  
"Ah! Let me go! What do you want from me?!" Knuckles yelled, struggling to break free.  
  
Panada shook her head, "Nope, cutie, you are gonna tell us where Slice is."  
  
"I don't know where she is! Let me go!" Both of his arms were pinned and his legs, and even his poor defenseless tail. One of the bats pulled his tail a little two hard, "YOUCH! DON'T TOUCH MY TAIL!!" He yelped, trying harder than ever to get free from their grasp.  
  
Betsey stepped fourth, "Where is Rouge?"  
  
Knuckles stopped struggling, "Rouge? I don't know! I was looking for her before you all grabbed me like I'm a wanted convict!"  
  
"You don't know where Rouge is?" Betsey asked again.  
  
"Look, I said I didn't know. Now let me go you Big Cat wannabe!" Knuckles was growing frustrated, as always. Now they were forming a small crowd.  
  
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Sonic yelled, running over to the group, followed by Tails, Amy, and Tarosamo.  
  
Knuckles sighed in relief; he never thought he'll be so happy seeing Sonic.  
  
The bats let Knuckles go, staring at the blue hedgehog. Knuckles ran over to the gang.  
  
"Hey...hedgehog! Isn't he cute?" One of the bats said.  
  
Everyone sweat dropped.  
  
Knuckles was slowly backing away, "Uh, guys. I think it'll be wise to...RUN!" He took off, Sonic and the others right behind him, with the bats chasing after them.  
  
Sonic was now in the lead, but not too far ahead of the others. After ten minutes of running, Sonic looked behind him to see if the bats were still chasing. No signed of them, he slowed down before stopping completely. The others stopped as well. "Who were they?" Sonic asked, looking at Knuckles.  
  
Knuckles shrugged, "It's a long story, believe me."  
  
"Right..." The blue hedgehog said when suddenly the wind started to pick up around them. The streets were deserted as leaves swirled around them.  
  
"What's going on? Is there a storm coming in?" Amy asked while the wind picked up even stronger.  
  
Thunder clashed as a figure appeared in front of them.  
  
"Sameo!" Knuckles and Tarosamo exclaimed in unison.  
  
"So this is Sameo? He doesn't look so tough." Sonic smirked at the dragon.  
  
Sameo smirked as well, "Why, hello again, Knuckles, Tarosamo. I see that you gathered some friends? Sonic the hedgehog, I presume?"  
  
"The one and only!" Sonic gave him the peace sign.  
  
"Good. And you must be Miles, or shall I say, Tails Prower?" Tails nodded his confirm, Sameo continued, "And....Amy Rose...."  
  
Amy hid behind Sonic, "How do you know our names?"  
  
"You all are famous around the world. And not only that, I've been watching you all."  
  
Knuckles growled, "Leave us alone, Sameo! We haven't done anything to you! And GIVE ME BACK MY EMERALD!!" He was ready to charge at him, when Sameo pulled out a black jewel.  
  
Tarosamo eyes widen, "That's...the Joya De La Oscuridad!" Everyone gasped.  
  
"So, that is the Joya De La Oscuridad..." Tails said in thought, looking at the jewel that Sameo held.  
  
Sameo smirked evilly at them, "Ah...I see that you are one member short..."  
  
Knuckles then remembered the white bat. "Rouge! What have you done to her?! Tell me!"  
  
"What makes you think that I have her?"  
  
"You don't have her...?" The red echidna asked in disbelief.  
  
"Of course I do." He laughed, snapping his fingers. Rouge appeared a second later gagged and bond, struggling to break free.  
  
"Rouge!" They all yelled, Knuckles ran to her, jumping at her, but before he could get her, she disappeared.  
  
"Give her back to me!" Knuckles demanded.  
  
"Come and get her." Sameo said before disappearing too.  
  
"Ugh! When I get my hands on him, I'll kill him!" Needless to say, Knuckles was P'Oed.  
  
"Calm down, man. We'll get her back." Sonic said, trying to calm his friend down.  
  
Tails turned to Tarosamo, "Tarosamo, do you know where Sameo could be?"  
  
The other echidna nodded, "Yes, I do. He resides in another dimension. In order to get there, we need the Joya De La Luz."  
  
Knuckles groan, "Not another treasure hunt!"  
  
Amy frown, "Knuckles, do you want to save Rouge or not?"  
  
He sighed, "I do..."  
  
"Then stop complaining."  
  
He said nothing to that, but said, "Let's go. I don't want her there any longer than she has to be. Where's this jewel, Tarosamo?" Knuckles asked his companion, though he won't let Taro know that he thinks of him as a companion, let alone his friend.  
  
Tarosamo placed a hand under his chin, in deep thought. "It's been centuries since the last time I've lead eyes on those jewels..."  
  
"Centuries?" Tails asked, "How old are you, Tarosamo?"  
  
Tarosamo smirked lightly, "I am actually a thousand years old but I appear to be 21."  
  
"WHAT?!?!" Everyone exclaimed, their eyes popping out of their heads. "How do you get to leave so long?" The young fox asked, as he was the first to recover from the shock.  
  
Tarosamo begun to explained, "The echidnas on my home planet can life for a very long time. I have actually been your family ambassador for 700 years, Knuckles."  
  
"How long do they live for?" Sonic asked him.  
  
"They could live as long as life. Some are known to live for a couple million years." Tarosamo continued.  
  
"What!?! Why the hell haven't you told me this before?!" Knuckles yelled, "There's no way someone could live that long! Then how did my father and mother died?"  
  
"Unfortunately, Prince, before they left, they were struck with a deadly disease that could even perish the strongest of species."  
  
"So...what you're trying to say is that Knuckles can practically live forever? Like almost immortal?" Amy asked.  
  
"That is correct, Amy."  
  
"I can't live that long...it's not fair!" Knuckles was about ready to pull out his dreadlocks, "What about Rouge, then?" He asked, the idea of Rouge leaving him was too much. He couldn't bear the thought of her leaving him.  
  
Tarosamo wasn't sure if he wanted to tell him about that, but he had the right to know. "Knuckles...I'll tell you what would happen...but it would be best if I told you in private."  
  
"What do you have to tell him that you can't tell us?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms.  
  
Tarosamo said nothing. He left, telling Knuckles to follow him. Knuckles sighed, "I'll be back guys." He jogged after the other echidna.  
  
Sonic rolled his eyes, "Can you believe that? Knuckles can live almost forever? I don't really believe that echidna..."  
  
Amy giggled, "But what if he is telling the truth? What if Knuckles really is from a planet that only have echidnas and that Tarosamo is a thousand years old and has been serving Knuckles family for seven hundred years and that Knuckles really can live that long!"  
  
"It still sounds fishy to me." Sonic said, still unconvinced, "What do you think, little buddy?"  
  
Tails smiled sheepishly, "He could be telling the truth...I don't think Tarosamo could make up something like that..."  
  
Sonic sighed, "Fine, fine. If you say so..." They waited for the two to return.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
That's it for chapter twelve. Who would've thought that Knuckles could live so long? And a prince? Sorry, but I think I was thinking about Tenchi when I was writing this fic...eh...oh well. This story is taking all kinds of twists and turns! This seems like it has...I dunno...a little fantasy in it? Totally AU now...Review please!  
  
PS: Unfortunately, Shadow won't be appearing in this story. ( I have my reasons...^_^ I hope you enjoy it anyway! 


	13. Chapter 13

Author Note: Here's chapter 13! Sorry it took so long, I had some...uh, 'issues' with Fanfiction.net...*glares at ff.net*  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Knuckles and Tarosamo walked in silence for a few more moments before Knuckles finally asked, "So...can I really live that long...?  
  
Tarosamo slightly nodded his head, "Yes...Prince Knuckles..."  
  
Knuckles flinched at being called 'Prince', but he chose to ignore it "What does that mean...that everyone around me is going to die while I live on longer?"  
  
The black and pale blue echidna sighed, "Knuckles, I know it's hard for you to believe this, but..."  
  
Knuckles interrupted him, "Ya think? I'm gonna live almost forever while my friends and Rouge die before me! I thought I was already cursed with guarding the Master Emerald, now this?"  
  
"Knuckles...Rouge...well, she isn't really who you think she is...." He quickly added as Knuckles gave him a long, "No, she hasn't been lying, either. She doesn't know herself. Rouge is, too, from another planet..."  
  
"What?! This just got from bad to worst. How do you know?"  
  
"All the outer planets are connected in some way or another. Rouge's race also has a very long life span, as well as hidden powers, such as you."  
  
Knuckles stared at the other echidna, "Tarosamo, none of this makes sense! It's so hard to believe! What else haven't you told me? Are you even an echidna?!" Knuckles said incredulously.  
  
Tarosamo sweat dropped, "I know this is, but you must believe. A long time ago, the gods chose three warriors to fight for them. You, Rouge, and a third, whom name is still unknown. You and Rouge meeting was not by accident. You two were chosen by Faith. They believed, with you and your mate's combined power, you two can produce a most powerful offspring that will one day save the entire universe." He explained to his prince.  
  
"Hold on! This all is too much! You're telling me that all this was supposed to happen? The incident with the ARK, my meeting with Rouge, all that other stuff, and my falling in love with her? And now stopping an evil demon? My head hurts..." Knuckles groan, rubbing his forehead.  
  
"I know it may be overwhelming for you...But it's the truth. It all started some thousands of years ago. You and Rouge were destined to fall in love, Knuckles. You two are destined to have a child together."  
  
"I'm only eighteen! I'm not ready for children!" Knuckles yelled, frantically. "And how do you know all of this? What are you, some kinda god?"  
  
Tarosamo smirked, "No, I'm not a god, just the messenger."  
  
"I just want to get Rouge and go home..." Knuckles sighed, "Could we continue this later? I think Rouge would want to hear about it too..."  
  
Tarosamo nodded, "As you wish, Prince Knuckles."  
  
"Lay off on the Prince thing, it's just Knuckles." Knuckles said before leaving to join with Sonic and everyone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rouge was struggling to break free from her bonds. Her mouth was still gagged and whatever she did didn't work to get her free. She stopped struggling after a while, and slouched down in defeat.  
  
Sameo walked in the room with the Joya De La Oscuridad tied around his neck. "Ah, hello, Rouge the Bat. Are you enjoying your time?"  
  
Rouge glared at him.  
  
"Hmm...how about I try my new power out? What do you say?"  
  
Rouge said nothing but continued to glare at the dragon.  
  
"I take that as a yes." He summoned up some power from the jewel around his neck.  
  
Rouge tightly closed her eyes, thinking, 'Oh, Knuckles...hurry up and get me out of here...'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
'Oh, Knuckles...hurry up and get me out of here...'  
  
Knuckles head snapped up, "Did you guys hear that?" He asked them.  
  
Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Tarosamo gave Knuckles a confused look. "Heard what, Knux?" Sonic asked his friend.  
  
Knuckles shook his head as if clearing it. "I could've sworn I heard Rouge's voice in my head..." He murmured under his breath.  
  
"Gosh, Knuckles, got Rouge on the brain?" Sonic snickered.  
  
"I'm serious, Sonic!" Knuckles snarled at the hedgehog.  
  
Tarosamo smiled, "So...it has begun."  
  
"What has begun?" Amy asked him.  
  
"The link. Knuckles and Rouge must have established a link last night when they shared that kiss."  
  
"A link...?" Tails said, looking at Knuckles who was deep in thought.  
  
Tarosamo nodded, "Yes, a telepathic communicator. Rouge and Knuckles are able to speak to each other through that link."  
  
Knuckles glanced at Tarosamo, "I can talk to Rouge in my mind?"  
  
The other echidna nodded. "You could. But you need to learn how to use it. Like how to channel your thoughts and to keep things secret."  
  
Knuckles already had his eyes closed, trying to concentrate, 'Rouge...? Can you...hear me?' There was no reply, he tried again, 'Rouge...Rouge, please answer! Are you alright?!' Still nothing came. 'This is ridiculous.' Knuckles opened his eyes, "I'm not getting a reply...  
  
"Are you sure you're doing it right?" Amy asked the red echidna.  
  
"Knuckles, try concentrating. Clear your mind of everything. Find the link in the back of your mind and use it. Call out to Rouge..." Tarosamo said, like some dude from that one Freddy movie when he was trying to get the kids to sleep in that little meeting...uh, yeah.  
  
Knuckles did as he was told, searching for that link. Where is it? Almost...almost...there! Got'cha! 'Rouge...are you...there? Are you...alright?'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rouge glanced up at Sameo as he smirked down at her, ready to test his power; she thought she heard...Knuckles? But how?  
  
'Rouge...answer me...'  
  
There it was again! Where was this voice coming from? It sounded like it came from here...mind? But how? That was impossible! 'Knu—Knuckles?'  
  
'Rouge! Are you okay?'  
  
Rouge slightly smiled, it was Knuckles! 'I'm okay...right now...but how...?'  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Knuckles grinned, "I got her, guys!"  
  
"Is she alright, Knuckles?" Amy asked him.  
  
Knuckles nodded, talking to Rouge again through the link, 'It's a long story. Has he touched you? Because, if he did, I'll kill him.'  
  
'No, he hasn't...but...he's ready to test his power out...Knuckles, you better hurry up and get here!' She replied to him.  
  
Knuckles frown, 'I'll get there as soon as I can.'  
  
'Knuckles, that have better be soon...things don't look too good on my end...'  
  
'I will. And Rouge?'  
  
'Yes?'  
  
'I love you.'  
  
Rouge smirked through the link, he could feel it, 'I love you too, Knuckles.' (AN: *sniffle* That's so sweet...)  
  
With that, the link was disconnected. Knuckles turned back to the group with a new determination in his eyes, "Guys, we got to get going."  
  
"Hey, Knuckles, I just realized something..." Sonic said, glancing at the red echidna.  
  
"What's that?" He growled.  
  
"You have a sword." Sonic smirked, mentioning the sword that the poor, poor authoress had sadly forgot about for the last however chapters...  
  
Knuckles glanced behind his back to see his sword; he doesn't remember putting it on this morning..."Oh...my sword." He rolled his eyes.  
  
"Oh! Cool sword, Knuckles! Could I see it?" Amy asked, grabbing the sword before Knuckles could object.  
  
"Why not?" Knuckles said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as the girl took the sword.  
  
"Sweet, Knux. Where'd you get this sword from?" Sonic asked, looking over the sword with Amy.  
  
Knuckles shrugged, not really paying attention, "Some toad gave it to me."  
  
"A toad?" Tails asked, also admiring the sword, "Wow, I never seen a sword like this one before." Knuckles was already making his way away with Tarosamo slightly behind. Tails looked up from the sword noticing this. "Knuckles! Wait up!" Tails yelled, running after the two echidnas.  
  
Sonic frown as he held on to the sword, "It's not fair...Knuckles always get the cool stuff..."  
  
Amy smirked, "But you'll cooler, Sonikku!"  
  
Sonic was beginning to whine, "Knuckles get everything! He has a cool island floating around, a cool giant green stone, a cool sword, and not to mention a hot girlfriend! Life is so cruel to me—"  
  
Amy glared at Sonic, smacking him with her trusty hammer, "What about me, Sonic!? I'm just as good as Rouge!"  
  
Sonic sat rubbing the growing bump on his head, "That's not what I meant, Ames!" He laughed nervous before shooting up, running after Knuckles and them. "C'mon Amy!"  
  
Amy sighed, muttering under her breath, "Men..." and ran after the rest of the gang.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Unbeknownst to them, a figure was following close behind, watching their every move. It stayed hidden in the shadows as not to get caught. It smirked, whispering in a deep dark voice, "Soon..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sameo's Lair  
  
Rouge was tossed across the room, bloodied and bruised. Her bonds and gag no longer held her down. She panted; exhausted from the beating Sameo was brewing upon her. Sameo was only playing with her, tossing her around like some kind of rag doll.  
  
The evil demon grinned down at Rouge's beaten form. He was enjoying himself, the sick bastard. Rouge coughed up blood, glaring at Sameo through half closed eyes. "You're not going to get away with this..." She said; her voice weak.  
  
Sameo only smirked, "On the contrary, I already have." He snapped his arm up, bringing Rouge with it. He slammed his hand down hard, causing Rouge to smash into the floor. She let out a horrid scream as her frail body impacted with the hard cold steel ground.  
  
In a cage, not too far from where Sameo was "playing", a familiar figure watched in horror. He couldn't believe what his former master was doing. And for what? Just for the hell of it. He couldn't stand it anymore. "Sameo! Let her go!" He shouted, trying to get the dragon's attention.  
  
Sameo glared at the cage which held Slice and Black Light, "Silence! Or I shall release my power on YOU!"  
  
Black Light glanced over at the far corner where Slice was still unconscious at. He turned back to Sameo. "Sir, what has she done to you?"  
  
Sameo rolled his eyes, "It's not what she has done, it's what she's capable of doing! Now, be silent, or I will silence you myself!"  
  
Black Light was having about enough of this, "Sameo! You can't keep doing this!"  
  
Rouge took the distraction to hurriedly get away from Sameo's evil clutches.  
  
Sameo wasn't stupid; he smirked as he saw Rouge through the corner of his eye. "And where do you think you're going, Princess?"  
  
Rouge growled, "Look, you better find someone else to play with! I'm not your freakin' toy!"  
  
"Rouge, Rouge, Rouge..." Sameo tsk, shaking his head back and fourth, he waved his hand around and a slight aurora surrounded Rouge. She let out a startle cry as she was lifted off the ground. "Don't worry, your boyfriend will be here soon, and once he does come, I'll have a 'welcoming' party set up for him and his friends." Sameo laughed as he tossed Rouge in the cell oppose from Black Light's cell.  
  
Rouge sat in the cold damp cell as Sameo left the room, she was in pain, hurting all over, she could barely move. She struggle to get up but fell back down on the hard cemented floor. She let out a defeated sigh. Knuckles better hurry up, or else, she'll be done for...  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hehe! I got most of the ideas from Tenchi! LONG LIVE RYOKO AND TENCHI!! *gets beat up by Ayeka fans* ....Owie...x.x (Don't...own...Ten—Tenchi...*passes out*)  
  
Oh, and FanFiction.net for some stupid, insane, idiotic, retarded, crazy, (so on and so on) reason removed "The Echidna Prince" 'cause they're stupid. Anyhow, if anyone was reading that story and would like to continue on reading it, than you would find it here:   
  
PS: Someone better help me here! My self esteem is going down...I'm on the verge of giving up...but...I must be strong....for all the little people out there! j/k 'bout the little people part...*kicks ff.net* ....OW!! *holds foot, realizing she kicked the dang computer...* 


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Wow, 80 reviews! I'm, well, happy!! *does the happy dance* Yayness! Anyway, here's chapter 14!! Enjoy! *dances some more; note that I do not know how to dance. Lol.*  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 14  
  
Sonic was beginning to get bored, "Where are we going, exactly?" He asked, pushing a branch out of his way.  
  
"We are heading to the gate of Avalon. It may take us a day to get there." Tarosamo explained, leading the way.  
  
"A day?! What if we don't have a day?!" Knuckles growled, growing quite impatient.  
  
Tarosamo continued walking in the lead, "Knuckles, you need to calm down. Rushing into everything may make the situation worst."  
  
Knuckles growled some more but said nothing. Tails looked up from a compass he was holding, "Exactly, how far is Avalon, Tarosamo?"  
  
"First, young Tails, we must get to the Atlantic Ocean and cross it, that may take a few hours. Once we reach the other side of the ocean, Avalon wouldn't be much further from there." (I know it may take LONGER to get there...but...I'm rushing things here! ^_^)  
  
After walking for two hours, they finally reached the shore line.  
  
Amy was more than relief, "Finally! But how will we get across?"  
  
Tarosamo smiled, "Easy, we will rent a boat."  
  
"Think you could find a boat large enough for five of us?" Sonic asked, glancing around at the small boats in the waving ocean.  
  
The echidna nodded, "Yes." He walked over to a large enough boat. A bear was standing near it. Once Tarosamo was close enough to the bear he looked up.  
  
The bear smiled, "Tarosamo! I haven't seen you in ages! How is everything?"  
  
Tarosamo returned the smile, "Everything is fine, Bruce. And you?"  
  
"Can't complain. So, what do you need?"  
  
"We just need a big enough boat to get us across the Atlantic."  
  
Bruce looked behind Tarosamo at the mention of 'us'. "Sure thing. Who are your friends?"  
  
Sonic grinned as he pointed his thumb to himself, "Name's Sonic! Fastest hedgehog alive!"  
  
Amy stared dreamily at Sonic, "My name is Amy Rose! I'm Sonic's girlfriend!" Sonic rolled his eyes but made no objection, what's the use?  
  
"I'm Tails! I love to work with machines and I'm very intelligent!" Tails smiled.  
  
Bruce nodded than looked at Knuckles who haven't said anything yet, "And you are?"  
  
Knuckles looked up at him, studying him before he spoke. "Knuckles." Was all he said.  
  
Bruce shrugged, "Not very talkative, eh?"  
  
Tarosamo cleared his throat, "Knuckles is going through some things. What about the boat?"  
  
"Ah, the boat! It'll be ready in a few moments! Do not worry about any fees! I'll let you take it for free and as long as you like!" Bruce walked into a shack and came out a few minutes later with a piece of paper. "All I need for you to do is sign here." He gave Tarosamo the paper and a pen.  
  
Tarosamo signed the paper and gave it and the pen back to Bruce. "Thank you, Bruce." Tarosamo bowed respectably to the bear.  
  
Bruce returned the gesture, "Anytime old friend. You all have fun!" He waved to them as they all boarded a nice size boat.  
  
Sonic, Amy, Tarosamo, and Tails waved to Bruce as they departed. Knuckles only stared straight out to the sea, ready for anything faith throws at him. He sighed, maybe he should check on Rouge through the link...strange...having a link. How did that actually happen? Suddenly, he felt pain ripped through his skull. He gasped, falling to his knees, gripping his head.  
  
Sonic was at his side immediately, "Knuckles! Are you okay? What happened?" He asked his friend in worriment.  
  
Knuckles eyes widen, "Rouge! That bastard must have done something to her!" (AN: Sorry about using that 'b' word, but Knuckles is really pissed...can't you tell?)  
  
Amy was also by his side, "How do you know, Knuckles?"  
  
Knuckles was silent for a moment, then said, "That pain...it came from her."  
  
Tarosamo nodded, "The link can also allow you to feel what the other is feeling. I'm sorry this had to happen, Knuckles."  
  
Knuckles growled, "It's not your fault...if Slice hadn't tried to take the Master Emerald, none of this would've happened!"  
  
"Who's Slice?" The pink hedgehog asked.  
  
The red echidna growled again, "Slice is Rouge's older sister."  
  
"Rouge has an older sister? I always thought she had an older brother and younger sister." Sonic said in confusion.  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes and sweat dropped, "Sonic, that was for ANOTHER fic!"  
  
"Oh, I knew that..." Sonic said sheepishly as he took a seat.  
  
Tarosamo cleared his throat again, "Ahem...let's rest. I'm sure everyone is exhausted from the long walk." Everyone took a seat.  
  
Amy nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I am kinda tired." She yawned and lean her head against Sonic's shoulder.  
  
Sonic's first instinct was to push her off, but after looking at her as she drifted off to sleep, he made no such attempt, he sighed.  
  
The sun was beginning to set now as the boat drifted further out to sea, with Tarosamo guiding it at the wheel. The crew had now dozed off to sleep, all except for Tarosamo and Knuckles that is.  
  
Knuckles couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried. Rouge was still on his mind. He tried calling out to her through the mental link, but got no response. He sighed; he swore that he was going to get gray hairs for this....  
  
Tarosamo glanced at his depressed companion. He knew the pain that Knuckles must be going through. The lost and despair he must be feeling. He didn't like to see Knuckles going through this. They had to get the Joya De La Luz and soon.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The shadowy figure also grabbed a boat, staying far behind the gang so they couldn't see him. He needed to stay close, but not too close, as were his orders. This was a mission he couldn't fail, no matter what.  
  
He kept his eyes on them as darkness took over the land. They were beginning to sleep now. He couldn't sleep, wouldn't sleep. All he needed to do was watch them. Watch them and wait. Wait for the right moment. That was his orders. He smirked to himself, what an easy mission...  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Rouge?" A voice asked from across the room.  
  
Rouge lay quietly on a small bed that came with the poor cell. Her eyes were close, but she wasn't asleep, she couldn't sleep. Her breathing was hollow and her head ached. She couldn't move, nor did she dare. Right now, all she wanted was peace.  
  
"Rouge?" The voice asked again, this time more persistent.  
  
She slowly turned to where the voice was coming from. The other cell. "What?" She asked. Her head throbbed with each movement she made.  
  
"Are you...okay?"  
  
She sighed, of course she wasn't okay! What kind of question is that? "Who are you?"  
  
The voice sighed, "My name is Black Light...I am...was...your sister's companion."  
  
Rouge nearly fell off the cot at that, "My...my sister?"  
  
"Yes." Black Light continued, "She was injured fighting Sameo."  
  
Rouge snorted, "Served her right."  
  
"You do not like your sister?"  
  
"I don't hate her, I just don't like her."  
  
Black Light was silent for a moment, "...Why do you dislike her then?"  
  
"She's been torturing me ever since we were kids. Could you stop asking me questions? My head hurts..." Rouge rubbed her head to emphasize her point.  
  
"I am sorry, Rouge." Black Light turned away from her to tend to Slice who was still unconscious and made no sign of recovering soon.  
  
Rouge didn't felt like talking anymore, she leaned up against a corner wall in the cell and pulled up her knees, wrapping her arms around them. She leaned the back of her head against the wall, looking at the dark ceiling. She sighed, "How is she?"  
  
Black Light turned back to Rouge in the other cell block, "Slice? Honestly, I can't tell..." The panther looked sadly down at the fallen bat.  
  
Rouge smirked through her pain, "Don't worry...she'll make it...Slice is strong."  
  
Black Light smiled at that, "I know she is. Since we'll probably be here for a while..."  
  
"Yeah?" Rouge turned her glazed from the ceiling to the panther in the other cell.  
  
"Could you tell me a little about yourself? And your sister? So I could get to know you and her a little better..."  
  
Rouge shrugged, "I guess. We both are treasure hunters, searching all over the world for all types of jewels. We had a clan, with Slice being the leader." She rolled her eyes, "Anyway, anything in particular that you want to know about?"  
  
"Actually, there is..." Black Light paused for a moment, "Is Slice...well...is she...seeing anyone...special?" Black Light blushed.  
  
Rouge raised an eyebrow and laughed hoarsely, "Don't tell me you like her!"  
  
Black Light blushed deepen, "Uh..."  
  
"You do! Wow, never thought she'll soften up." Rouge said.  
  
Black Light looked down at the other bat. She could never feel the same way...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Amy opened her eyes. It was still dark outside. Wonder what woke her? She yawned then heard a horrible noise which scared her. Slowly, she turned around to see...Sonic snoring. His snoring must have woken her up. She giggled at him as he leaned against the railing of the boat with his elbows plopped behind him and his head titled back with his mouth agape.  
  
'That doesn't look too conformable.' Amy thought to herself as she gently moved Sonic so he was now lying down on the cool bench. 'There. That's much better.'  
  
"Snooooreee...." Was Sonic's only reply and in turned, Amy giggled softly.  
  
"You're so cute, Sonikku." She whispered before kissing him lightly on his cheek. Sonic didn't stir. Amy yawned again and laid down next to Sonic, placing her head on his chest. "Good night, Sonikku...."  
  
"Night Ames." Amy eyes widen as she heard the reply. She turned to face Sonic but he was asleep...maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. She shrugged it off and closed her eyes after getting comfortable again.  
  
Sonic smirked as he opened one eye to look at the pink hedgehog. 'This isn't so bad after all...' He thought as he pulled Amy closer to his warm body before dozing off again.  
  
Knuckles watched as this took place, shocked. 'I guess Sonic's not such a pervert after all...' Knuckles thought before moving his head back towards the night sky. The stars twinkled down on him. He was the only one awake now. Tails was asleep in the small cabin below deck and Tarosamo was on the other end of the boat, sleeping on one of those benches. Knuckles closed his eyes; he so desperately wanted to hear Rouge's voice again. To look into her beautiful eyes again. Knuckles smirked as he opened his eyes. Listen to him; this is so not like him. He once hated the romantic gibberish junk, and he guessed, that was only because he never had anyone to love. But that was then and this is now.  
  
He wanted to try the link once more before going off to bed, he opened the link. 'Rouge?' He waited for a few minutes before trying again, 'Rouge, can you hear me?'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rouge was snoring away until she felt a faint tug in the back of her brain. "Go away..." She murmured in her sleep. She was so exhausted...  
  
'Rouge, can you hear me?"  
  
At that, her eyes snapped opened, "Knuckles?" She asked out loud.  
  
'Rouge! Thank god you're alright!'  
  
Rouge grinned, 'Knuckles! Where are you?'  
  
'We're on the Atlantic ocean, on our way to Avalon. We're going to get the Jewel De La Luz.'  
  
'Hurry up Knuckles...I don't know how much time I have left. Oh, and you wont believe this, but Slice is here too!'  
  
Knuckles growled through the link, 'What is she doing there? Siding with Sameo?'  
  
Rouge shook her head, even though she knew Knuckles couldn't see it, 'No, Knuxie, she's a prisoner too.'  
  
'Really now? I'm not surprise. Serves her right for starting this crazy adventure anyway!'  
  
Rouge sighed, 'Knuckles, you shouldn't hold such a grudge against my sister, and plus, some good things came out of it, right?'  
  
Knuckles blushed on his end, for he knew what she was refereeing to. 'I guess...'  
  
'Good, now, get some sleep, okay? You're going to need all the strength you can get if you plan on getting me out of here.'  
  
'Alright...'  
  
'Good night Knuckles, love ya!'  
  
'Night Rouge, love you too.' And with that, the link was terminated.  
  
Rouge smiled to herself, feeling much better now that she was able to speak with Knuckles. She didn't realize how much loved him, but she does now. She loves him with all her heart, body, and soul! (AN: That's so corny! That's how I was when I first met my 'boyfriend'! Now I'm like, 'wha?' lol)  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sameo smirked; she thinks he doesn't know about that little connection? Sameo knew everything that went on in his world. He can destroy the connection just like that, if he wanted to. But he prefers to find as much information out as he can by allowing that bat to use that ridiculous link.  
  
Knuckles can't win, even if he does somehow find the jewel and demands to fight him. He was the most powerful being in the universe, and nothing will stand in his way to get what he wants. Not even a stupid echidna!  
  
The dragon picked up the black jewel and stared at it. Its power was amazing; he could feel it surging through the jewel, flowing into his veins. He'll be unstoppable, no doubt about that. Even hell will wither at his superiority.  
  
Sameo placed the jewel around his neck again; he couldn't WAIT for Knuckles to show up...  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
That ends Chapter 14. You know, I was gonna name that bear Yogi and give him a sidekick name Booboo. ^_^  
  
I also think the link is a little funny...every time I read over that, it makes me laugh. lol  
  
Also, what Knuckles was talking about with Rouge having an older brother and a younger sister, that was in my other story "Blade the Bat", which I've removed.  
  
Okay, I don't normally do this kinda thing right here, but I'm asking people for their opinions and some suggestions, what can I do to make this story better? If y'all like it the way it is, that's awesome. Well, until next chapter. 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
  
A lovely dove flew gracefully in the air, flying around the approaching boat. It let out its song, singing with the blowing wind. Spotting the boat, it flew down and landed on the railing. It chirped, waking up one of the passengers aboard the boat.  
  
Sonic yawned as he stretched, careful as not to throw Amy off. He raised an eyebrow as Amy snuggled more into him. He gently put her aside as she stayed asleep. Sonic then noticed the white dove that rested on the railing of the boat. "Hey there." Sonic said.  
  
The dove looked at him curiously before flying on his shoulder. Sonic was surprised that a bird would do that to a stranger. The dove looked around the boat.  
  
"What are you doing here?" The blue hedgehog asked the bird.  
  
"I'm here to aid you in your quest." The bird replied in a soft voice.  
  
Sonic nearly fell when he heard the bird speak, "You can talk?!"  
  
The dove only stared at him, "I wish to aid you in your quest. My name is Chenoa."  
  
Sonic slowly nodded, "But how can you talk?"  
  
"Anything can speak if you listen to its voice." Chenoa explained.  
  
Yawning was heard from behind them and Sonic turned to see Amy waking up. She groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Once the sleep was gone from her eyes, she looked up at Sonic and smiled, "Good morning Sonic! Oh...you made a new friend!" Amy said as she saw the bird on Sonic's shoulder. "Oh, she's pretty! I never saw a dove before!" Amy rushed over to the bird, half expecting it to fly away. It didn't, though. "Wow, this bird is different from others!"  
  
Sonic rolled his eyes, "You don't know the half of it."  
  
"What was that, Sonikku?" Amy asked as the bird jumped from his shoulder to her hand. "Everyone else is still asleep?"  
  
Sonic nodded, "Looks that way. Amy, you won't believe this, but that bird can talk!"  
  
The pink hedgehog laughed, "You're so silly, Sonic!"  
  
"I'm not joking." He said with a straight face.  
  
Amy looked at the bird, "Can you talk?"  
  
Chenoa stared at Amy for a moment, tilting her head. "Yes." She said after a minute.  
  
Amy eyes widen, "Wow! You really can talk!"  
  
"That's incredible!" A small voice said behind them. Tails walked up from the small cabin below deck.  
  
Sonic nodded, "Yeah, she said that she'll help us in our quest."  
  
Tails smiled, "This is a good signed. Doves are messengers from above. So, can you really help us find this jewel?"  
  
"Yes. With the jewel, you will be able to enter the underworld."  
  
"The underworld? Is that where Sameo is?" Amy asked as she held the dove.  
  
"Sameo is lord of the underworld. He has been resting for many a century." The dove explained.  
  
Tails nodded, "So, do you know where this jewel is at?"  
  
"Yes, it is in Avalon. I will take you to it when we meet the shore."  
  
Knuckles and Tarosamo than chose that moment to join them. "What's all the commotion?" Knuckles asked.  
  
Amy grinned, holding the bird out to them, "This bird can talk!"  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Right. Sure it can."  
  
"It can! See, tell them what you told us, birdie!"  
  
"My name is Chenoa." The bird said, getting annoyed with being called "birdie". Hey, even birds can get annoyed at times!  
  
Knuckles raised an eyebrow, "So...you can talk?"  
  
Tarosamo looked the bird over, "You're a messenger?"  
  
Chenoa stared at Tarosamo, "I was sent to aid you in your quest." She repeated again for the third time.  
  
"What can you do to help us?" Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"I can lead you to the underworld where Sameo resides."  
  
"The underworld?" Knuckles echoed. "Is that where he is keeping Rouge?!"  
  
"It is."  
  
Knuckles sighed, "We better get going then." All they could do was wait until they reached Avalon.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Rouge, oh Rouge...wake up."  
  
Rouge stirred a little, she refused to get up. She murmured, "Wha do you want...?"  
  
Sameo smirked, "Time for some fun, that's all. It gets pretty boring down here as you may now."  
  
Rouge didn't move, "Go bother someone else, Jerk off."  
  
"Such strong words coming from someone behind a steel cage." He taunt, then said, "Don't think I don't know about that connection you and that echidna share."  
  
Rouge snapped up at that and turned to him, "Connection? I don't know what you're talking about..."  
  
"Play dumb all you want, bat, but I know everything that goes on within my lair." Sameo said before leaving Rouge.  
  
Rouge sighed, relieved that he decided not to 'play' with her today. She glanced over at the other cell to Black Light and Slice. Unfortunately, Slice was still unconscious, and she was beginning to wonder if she was even alive. Black Light reassure her that her sister was still breathing, very faintly though.  
  
Rouge slumped against the cell wall. What is taking them so long?  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The boat finally reached Avalon (Yay, is Avalon a REAL place? Naw...). Everyone was happy to get off.  
  
"Finally! Land!" Sonic exclaimed more then a little relieved as he jumped off the boat, resisting the urge to kiss the dirt ground. "I really hate boats."  
  
Amy giggled, "You hate everything that involves anything related to water!" Amy stopped to look around, "So, this is Avalon?" The area they were now in was covered in a think fog and was surrounded by a massive amount of trees. In the distance, large mountains could be seen outlining the land. Beautiful and exotic flowers grew; flowers some of them didn't even knew existed. "Wow, this is amazing!"  
  
The bird flew ahead of them, "This way." Knuckles nodded and followed Chenoa. Tarosamo turned to the others and mention for them to follow as well.  
  
Tails was looking around, "Wow, I wish I brought my camera!" The young fox then took notice in a strange looking flower that was growing a little far away. It was a yellow plant and otherwise hard to explain... "Wow! That's an Anigozanthos, or Kangaroo Paw! I thought they only grew in Austria! This really is a rare plant! Now I really wished I brought my camera." Tails frown.  
  
Sonic shrugged, "Why don't you pick it, little buddy?"  
  
Tails looked at Sonic as if that was the craziest thing he ever said, "I can't do that Sonic!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Think about it, I can not take a rare flower from its habitat! That's like sending you to the moon or something!" Tails exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, pretty!" Amy exclaimed as she was about to reached out to a yellow plant. Tarosamo quickly pulled her away. "Hey!"  
  
"You wouldn't want to do that Amy. That is a very deadly plant. Lantana, it can cause death." Tarosamo explained releasing Amy.  
  
"Oh...thanks Tarosamo." Amy said sheepishly looking at the yellow plant.  
  
Tarosamo smiled, "No thanks are needed, Amy."  
  
"Please, keep up." The bird said, a little ways ahead of them. The gang quickly followed to catch up with Knuckles and Chenoa.  
  
Amy was amazed out how beautiful Avalon really was with all the different type of plants that grew there and animals that grazed the surrounding areas. Some animals she never even heard of. Amy latched onto Sonic, "Isn't this pretty, Sonic?"  
  
Sonic laughed nervously, "Uh, yeah, Ames."  
  
The pink hedgehog then noticed a weird looking animal, which looked like that of an anteater, but the size of a large dog. "Wow, what kind of animal is that?" She asked, pointing to it. The creature looked at them with frightful eyes before dashing away with its child.  
  
Tarosamo slightly smiled, "That would be a Giant Anteater."  
  
"Wow, hey, Knuckles, aren't you an anteater?" Amy asked looking towards the red echidna.  
  
Knuckles looked at Amy in disgust then to where the anteater once was before murmuring, "Hardly." He continued waking after the flying dove.  
  
Amy shrugged before dragging Sonic along to catch up with them again.  
  
After walking for an hour straight, Amy was getting tired. "Could we take a break, please?" She whined, leading on Sonic for support, "My feet hurt."  
  
Sonic smirked, "It's only been an hour, you can't possibly be tired!"  
  
Amy playfully smack him on the arm, "Well, I am! Could we rest?"  
  
Knuckles shrug, "You can rest, but I'm not stopping."  
  
Chenoa flew down and rested on Tarosamo's shoulder. "Would you all like to break?" She asked them.  
  
Amy and Tails shouted out a 'yes' while Sonic and Knuckles shouted out a 'no'. All turned to Tarosamo. Tarosamo looked at them, scratching the back of his head, "Uh..." Amy glared at him and Tarosamo smiled nervously.  
  
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to rest for a..." Before he could finish, a loud noise was heard above them. They all turn to it to see a large bird flying over head, circling them.  
  
Tails gulped, "That wouldn't be too good..."  
  
"What is it, Tails?" Amy asked, running behind Sonic.  
  
"That's a Golden Eagle. It pries on creature like us..." Tails said shakily.  
  
Amy raised an eyebrow, "That's a Golden Eagle? It looks more like a hawk or something. It's ugly!"  
  
The bird didn't seem to like that comment and swoop down towards the group, its beak pointed to the animals.  
  
"Ah!" Amy yelled, ducking behind Sonic.  
  
"Don't worry, Amy!" Sonic shouted as the bird flew pass their heads.  
  
"Sonic! Do something!" Amy shouted.  
  
Sonic nodded, "Hey, Tails, what you suggest we do?"  
  
Tails thought, "Well, I'm not really sure. Just knock it out and watch out for its beak and claws!"  
  
Sonic spun himself in a small ball before charging at the bird. He missed and instead hit Knuckles.  
  
"Hey! Watch it!" Knuckles exclaimed, rubbing his now sore head.  
  
Sonic laughed sheepishly, "Sorry, Knux!"  
  
"AHH!!" Amy yelled as the bird grabbed her and lifted her off the ground, "Sonic!!"  
  
Knuckles growled, "Why does everything seem to go from bad to worst?!"  
  
Sonic ignored him and rushed to Amy, "Amy!" He jumped but she was too high for him to reach, "Tails, quick!"  
  
"I'm way ahead of you Sonic! Grab on!" Tails said, hovering above the ground, waiting for Sonic to grab his hands.  
  
Once Sonic did, he yelled to Knuckles, "Hurry and get that jewel! We'll be with you shortly!"  
  
Knuckles nodded before running off with Chenoa and Tarosamo into the dark unknown.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Please! Let me go!" Amy cried as the bird took her further and further away from Sonic. She struggle to get free but to no avail.  
  
The bird looked at her through its large beady eyes. It continued to fly over mountains and such until it reached a large nest which rested on a large snow capped mountain.  
  
Amy eyes widen. She try to struggle harder, but the bird held a firm grip, "Let me go! I don't want to be bird food!" She shouted, kicking her feet. Once the eagle reached the ness, Amy could clearly see three hungry chicks. It dropped her in the nest and she fell, landing on her hands and knees. The baby birds rushed over to her ready for dinner. Amy quickly picked herself up and noticed that the baby birds were almost as big as she. She hurriedly backed away, "Sonic!!" She closed her eyes as the birds came closer and closer.  
  
Before they had time to taste their meal, a shout was sounded, "Hey! Leave her alone!"  
  
Amy opened her eyes and saw Sonic attacking the birds using a spin dash. She smiled, "Sonic!" Then her eyes widen in terror as she saw mommy bird coming in. "Sonic! Watch out!" But it was too late, the bird knocked Sonic out of the nest.  
  
"Whoa!!" He yelled falling out. They were at least a thousand feet up in the air.  
  
"No! Sonic!" Amy yelled, running over to the edge of the nest, looking below, she saw no Sonic. "Sonic..." She sobbed into her hands.  
  
"Don't cry Amy..." A weak voice said from below. Amy quickly uncovered her eyes and looked down to see Sonic hanging on a branch. "Sonic!"  
  
He nodded with a smile, "Hey, Tails, think you could lend me a hand?"  
  
"Right away Sonic!" Tails said from above Amy and flew down to help Sonic up.  
  
"Thanks little buddy." Sonic said when they were in the nest again. The baby birds were taken care of, now all they needed to do was rid themselves of mommy here. The bird quickly snapped at Sonic and Tails, almost causing Tails to drop his friend. "Ah! Watch it Tails!"  
  
"Sorry Sonic!" Tails apologized, heading away from the bird.  
  
"What about me?!" Amy cried jumping for them.  
  
"Don't worry, Ames! I got everything under control! Tails, head towards that bird, okay?!" Sonic shouted as the wind picked up slightly, making it harder for Tails to fly.  
  
"O—okay, Sonic!" Tails struggle to get Sonic to the bird, for a hedgehog, he sure was heavy! "Almost...there!" With that, Sonic jumped from Tails hands and turned into a ball and spin dashed the bird, this time hitting it repeatedly.  
  
The bird cried as it was being beaten by the blue hedgehog. After about ten hits, the bird fell down in the large nest, unconscious. Sonic landed on the ground, panting. "That was...fun..." He said sarcastically between pants.  
  
"Oh, Sonic! You are so brave!" Amy ran to Sonic and hugged him nearly to death.  
  
Sonic laughed as he returned Amy's hug, which surprised even her. Tails swiftly landed next to the two. "That was close." He said, looking over the edge of the nest, "But now only one problem remains."  
  
Sonic released Amy, but she still had her arms around him, "What's that little buddy?"  
  
Tails looked from Sonic to Amy, "How are we going to get down? I can't carry both of you and I'm exhausted." Tails explained to them.  
  
"Hmm...good point, Tails." Sonic said, looking around their surroundings before finding a large board. "Well, what do you know! We could snowboard down from here!" Sonic grabbed the board and placed it on the snow covered mountain, holding on to it. "It's big enough for the three of us. Come on! Hop on!" Sonic got on first, keeping it steady so it wouldn't go without them. Amy got behind him and Tails behind her. "Ready?" They nodded, "Great! Lets gooooooo!" He exclaimed before allowing the snowboard to slide down the mountain at an incredible speed.  
  
Amy closed her eyes and tightly held on to Sonic. She buried her face in the scuff of his neck. Tails was having the time of his life as the wind brush through his fur, "This is fun!" He exclaimed over the commotion and bits of snow flew in his face.  
  
Sonic smirked, "Yeah! Lean left!" They did, narrowly missing a tree, Amy still clinging to Sonic. "Amy! You could loosen up a bit!" Amy's gripped loosen up a teensy bit, but was still tight. Sonic sighed; they were soon approaching the button of the snow covered mountain before the board ran into a slightly covered rock, abruptly stopping them and sending them flying.  
  
"AHH!" Amy cried, STILL attached to Sonic.  
  
"Yeah!" Sonic exclaimed soaring through the air.  
  
"Whoo-hoo!" Tails shouted as he too went flying before catching the two and safely landed them on the grassy ground. "That was fun! Can we do it again?" Tails asked excitedly.  
  
"No!" Amy said as she slowly let go of Sonic.  
  
Sonic laughed, "Maybe some other time, Tails." Sonic patted the kid on the head, "We need to find Knuckles now..." He trailed off as he inspected his surroundings. Everything looked the same. The trees, the animals, the paths. There was no telling which way they came from. "Uh...which way do we go?" He asked, looking at Tails.  
  
Tails pulled out a compass, looking at it; it slightly swirled around until it settled on Northeast. "Um...I think it's that way!" He said, pointing in the direction.  
  
Sonic started walking ahead of them, "Than what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on!"  
  
Amy ran after him, followed by Tails.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The same figure which was in the last couple of chapters watched as Tails, Sonic, and Amy rushed in the chosen direction. He slightly frowned; he needed to send them off in the right direction. He slithered through the darkness of the jungle to keep well hidden.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Knuckles groan, "How much further is this place?" He growled, becoming quite impatient.  
  
Chenoa, still flying over head, called down to him, "It isn't much far now. Please, just a few more hours."  
  
Knuckles sighed, but kept on following the bird. They've been traveling for half the day now and the sun was beginning to set and Knuckles was growing tired and not to mention he hadn't eaten anything since, well, he doesn't even remember.  
  
Tarosamo noticed how tired and hungry the red echidna had begun and decided to set up camp for the night, "Perhaps we should set up camp for the night?" Didn't I just say that?  
  
Knuckles was quick to decline, "No, we don't have time!" He augured.  
  
Tarosamo shook his head, "Knuckles, if you go on much longer, you'll pass out from either exhaustion or hunger."  
  
Knuckles growled, but sat down on a log. Maybe he could use the rest, but first thing in the morning, they will continue their search. His stomach rumbled and he slightly blushed.  
  
Chenoa flew down on Tarosamo's shoulder. Tarosamo looked up at Knuckles, "I'll get us something to eat, Chenoa, could you gather us some fire wood?" He asked the dove. She nodded her head before flying off. He turned back again to Knuckles, "Will you be okay by yourself?"  
  
Knuckles looked at him as if he asked the dumbest question. "What am I? Disable? Of course I'll be okay by myself!"  
  
Tarosamo nodded with a small smile, "Of course. I'll be back shortly." He left the red echidna alone with his thoughts. Knuckles sighed and lead back against the log as the sky darken and stars started to appear.  
  
After a good fifteen minutes of waiting, Tarosamo returned with a man-made bag (which was made from leafs) and a dead animal. Knuckles looked at him with a raised eyebrow before saying, "What's the animal for?"  
  
Chenoa soon returned after with a lot of sticks in her mouth. She gave them to Tarosamo who quickly made a campfire. After the campfire was high enough, he roasted the meat.  
  
Tarosamo looked to Knuckles as he cooked the meat, "To eat." Once the meat was cooked enough, he begin eating.  
  
Knuckles looked on, disgusted, "Um, I don't eat meat..."  
  
Tarosamo shrugged before handing the man-made bag to him, "Then eat this."  
  
Knuckles opened it to see different type of berries in it. He took a couple and placed them in his mouth, slowly chewing. They were really good! He ate more until he was full. He handed the rest back to Tarosamo who finished them off. Chenoa was already asleep in a tree above the two.  
  
Tarosamo yawned before finding a small patch of grass on the ground and falling asleep. He was thankful that it was a pretty warm night tonight. He soon fell asleep.  
  
Knuckles yawned too, before finding a comfortable spot to lie down on. He did just that, but didn't go to sleep; instead he stared up at the twinkling sky. As he stared, he could have sworn he saw a picture of Rouge face appear in the sky. He blinked and it was gone. He sighed, he really did miss her. He soon fell asleep, thinking about his lovable little bat. (lol)  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rouge smiled to herself as she lied down on her small cot. Knuckles really missed her! He really does love her! She could feel the emotion through the link, obviously, Knuckles doesn't know how to control that yet. She sighed happy, despite of her current situation, for she knew Knuckles would do anything in his power to save her from this demon. She soon fell asleep, dreaming of a sweet, nice, future...(Is it me, or are they out of character? O.o Sowwy!)  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Well...there goes another chapter...*sniffle* My baby's growing up...*sniffle, sniffle*  
  
Uh, and yeah, Sameo lives in the underworld...couldn't think of anyplace else! Heh! He's neighbors with Hades from Hercules! ^_^  
  
I've also made everything up considering the cross from the Atlantic Ocean to get to Avalon. I don't know about that kinda stuff...just pretend...it's cool! ^_^ 


	16. Chapter 16

Author Note: Sorry this took so long, I was experiencing a large amount of writer's block...anyhow, enjoy!  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 16  
  
"Tails, are you sure we'll going the right way? It's almost nightfall!" Amy complained as they made their way through the thick jungle.  
  
Tails nodded, "I think so."  
  
"You think so? Meaning you aren't sure?!" Amy whined, "What if we're lost? What if...what if I never see my pretty house again!?"  
  
"Amy, chill out. It's not that bad." Sonic said, reassuring the girl.  
  
Amy huffed and crossed her arms, "Easy for you to say. You don't have to worry about anything."  
  
Sonic rolled his eyes, "I do worry about stuff too, you know."  
  
"Like what?" She asked, slightly interested in what he was actually worried about.  
  
Sonic laughed nervously, "Uh, well, like...like the faith of the world! I worry about that!"  
  
Amy pouted, "That's it?"  
  
Sonic thought, maybe he could play around a little, "Well, no. I also worry about who's gonna get the last chilidog at supper time."  
  
"Sonic!" She smacks Sonic on the head with her hand.  
  
"Hey! I was jokin'!" He said in defense. Tails rolled his eyes as he continued to lead the way.  
  
Amy crossed her arms, "So, what else do you worry about?"  
  
"Um...." Sonic glanced up at the darkening sky. "Well...I'm kinda worry right now."  
  
Amy raised an eyebrow, "About what?"  
  
"It's getting pretty late and we still haven't found Knuckles yet." He yawned, "And I'm pretty much tired." His stomach growled too, "And hungry..." He blushed as he rubbed his stomach.  
  
Amy smiled, "Me too. What can we eat around here? Are the berries edible?"  
  
Tails examined some of the berries that were growing around them, "These look like the more edible non-poisonous ones." He said, plucking a few.  
  
"How can you tell?" Amy asked, not entirely sure.  
  
The two-tailed fox smirk, "I've done some research on stuff like this." He stated proudly.  
  
Sonic smirked, "Good work, little buddy. Lets eat!" And the three ate the berries until they were stuffed. After that, they all drifted off to sleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning Knuckles awoke to something slimy jumping on his face. He opened his eyes slowly to stare into those of a...frog?! He let out a startle yelled as the frog croaked then hopped off his face. Knuckles quickly got to his feet and tried to rub the slimy feeling from his face. "Ugh! The heck! Freakin' frog!"  
  
Tarosamo awoke at the sudden outburst. He yawned then noticed the disgusted look on the red echidna's face, "You look lovely this morning, Knuckles." He said jokily.  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Whatever...now that I'm awake...we might as well get started."  
  
Chenoa flew down from the tree she stayed in and landed next to Tarosamo and Knuckles. She curiously tilted her head in one direction, "Shouldn't we wait for your friends?" She asked, still looking in that direction.  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes, "We don't have time, and plus, Sonic's with them. Let's go."  
  
Tarosamo smirked at the bird, "You heard the boss." He chuckled, knowing that something like that annoyed Knuckles.  
  
Knuckles sighed, "Whatever..." He started walking through the forest for a few seconds. Tarosamo and Chenoa just watched as he walked. Knuckles stopped for a few seconds and looked back to them, "Uh...lead the way?"  
  
Chenoa flew up ahead of them signaling for the two echidnas to follow, "This way."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I don't see them anywhere!" Tails shouted from his position in the sky looking over the tall trees. He flew back down to Sonic and Amy, heaving a sigh.  
  
Sonic smiled at the kid, "That's okay, little buddy. I'm sure that they haven't gotten too far ahead."  
  
"Hey, Sonic! Look at this!" Amy yelled to Sonic, picking up something off the ground. "This looks like a feather. Maybe it came from Chenoa?" She handed the feather to Sonic.  
  
Sonic took the white feather, "Maybe Chenoa left this to give us a general direction of which way they went?"  
  
Tails nodded, examining the feather and the direction it was leading, "Yeah, they probably went this way. Let's go!" They ran to the direction that the feather was pointing to.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sameo sighed as he sat in a chair made completely from bones, don't ask who bones, even I do not know. He was becoming impatient, waiting for that stupid echidna to hurry up to save that 'precious' bat. If the prophecy was true, then the wait would be worth it.  
  
He snapped his fingers and murmured, "Portal on." A small round mirror like portal appeared in front of him and turned on. A dimmed white light lit the room.  
  
Showing in the portal was the two echidnas surrounded by trees following a dove. He yawned, quite bored with this scene. He then snapped his fingers and the portal shifted showing another scene. This time it showed Sonic's group in a thick jungle heading towards the direction where the echidnas traveled. He sighed, not seeing any action in this scene either. He was about to snap his fingers once more before he noticed a dark figure traveling quite a ways from the group. "What's this?" He asked. "Zoom in." It did, showing the figure almost clearly. He smirked, "Think you can help them, eh? We'll see about that..." He chuckled as he snapped his fingers and the portal disappeared.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Rouge sighed, "Well, this is fun..." She said sarcastically, staring at the same spot on the wall for the pass two hours. "I wish Knuckles would hurry up..." She murmured to herself.  
  
Black Light, from his cell, watched Rouge silently. "Who is Knuckles, anyway?" He asked, curious as to why his former master was so interested in him.  
  
Rouge tore her eyes from the wall, "Knuckles? Well, Knuckles is one of the best treasure hunters I know. Not much to really tell you about him..." She wanted to leave out the part about Knuckles being the soul guarding of a very powerful gem, but then she remembered that Sameo had the Master Emerald. She cursed, 'I can't believe I forgot all about the Master Emerald!' (She wasn't the only one...oops...)  
  
Black Light eyes shifted from Rouge to Slice. He sighed, would she ever wake up? He was beginning to lose all hope that she would. He gently shook her but got no response. He held his head down. He felt so...so...helpless. Like a caged rat, there was nothing he could do to free himself from this hell. Free him and Slice from Sameo's evil clutches. A low growl arose from deep inside his throat at the thought of that...demon.  
  
He was lost in his thought when he heard a slight mumble from within his cell. His eyes quickly snapped to Slice's unmoving form. Is she...is she finally coming to? He continued to stare, waiting patiently. Nothing happen. Maybe he was hearing things? His eyes fell downcast, landing on a crack on the floor.  
  
"...Light...." A hoarse voice whispered.  
  
Black Light eyes once more snapped to Slice's face to stare into half open blue eyes. Black Light stared at her in shock, "Slice?" He whispered, afraid that if he spoke any louder, she would disappear.  
  
Slice smiled weakly, wincing as pain surge through her being, "Where...where am I...?"  
  
The panther couldn't respond. He stared at her with wide fearful eyes. He slowly reached a paw to her face, touching her cheek. "Slice..." He murmured.  
  
Slice tried to sit up, but pain prevented that from happening. She hissed, deciding that it would be best to stay still for now. "Black Light...what's wrong...?" She asked, noticing that he wasn't acting himself.  
  
"Black Light?" A voice came from the other cell. At first, Slice was at a lost to her voice it was then it clicked.  
  
"Rouge?" She asked; her voice cracking. Her throat burnt with each word spoken.  
  
"Slice?!" Rouge exclaimed, surprise to hear her sister's voice, "Slice, are you alright?"  
  
Slice laughed ironically, "I feel like I've been ran over a hundred times...since when did you care anyway?"  
  
Black Light was so happy that Slice was okay, he particularly threw himself at her, crushing her in a hug, "Slice, I was so worry!"  
  
Slice was shocked, "You...were...worry? Ow!" She yelled as Black Light hugged her a little too tight.  
  
He instantly let go, "I'm so sorry!"  
  
Slice sighed, "It's alright...where's...Sameo...?" She asked, looking around for that blasted demon.  
  
Rouge shuddered at the name, "Let's not conjure him here..."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Sonic, Tails, and Amy slowly walked though the forest. "They couldn't have gotten that far, could they?" Amy asked impatient with a sigh. "They should've waited for us."  
  
"Amy stop compli—wha?!" Sonic started but was suddenly cut off by an earth shake, knocking the three to their knees. "What the heck?!" He unsteadily got to his feet as Amy held on to him.  
  
"Ah! Sonic!" She cried trying to hold onto the blue hedgehog. Tails flew up into the air and glanced around the area. Amy eyes widen as she took notice of something, "Sonic! Look!" She shakily pointed in front of them.  
  
Sonic looked to where she pointed and took a step back. Not too far away from them, a monstrous being spouted out of the ground. It looked as if it was entirely made from rocks as it hovered above the three. "What is that thing?!" He shouted over the noise of the roaring earth and the beast. Finally the earth stop shaking and the trio could once again regain their footing.  
  
Tails then took notice of something on his rock chest, "Sonic!! It has the Master Emerald!"  
  
Sonic stared at it, "No way!"  
  
"How are we going to defeat it, Sonic?" Amy asked, hiding behind him, "That thing is at least a thousand feet tall!!"  
  
Sonic shrugged, "Piece of cake! It'll be just look beating Eggman's Golem!" He stepped forward towards the giant being. "Hey! Down here you over grown rock!"  
  
The giant being lifted up a rocky foot, bring it down on Sonic. Sonic, with his lightning speed, got out of the way just in time.  
  
The beast glared down at the blue hedgehog, "Are you Sonic the Hedgehog?!" It roared, blowing some of the trees.  
  
Sonic crossed his arms, "Who wants to know?"  
  
"I am Meza. I seek the one they call Sonic the Hedgehog." It growled at him.  
  
Sonic smirked, "Well, look no more! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic charged up a speed dash ready to dash up Meza.  
  
Amy gasped, "Sonic, no!"  
  
The blue hedgehog ignored her and speeded up the rock demon's leg and circled around its body. Meza then quickly grabbed Sonic in its hands, squeezing him.  
  
"Ah!" Sonic cried in pain as the demon attempt to crush him.  
  
"Sonic!!" Amy and Tails yelled, rushing towards Meza. Meza looked down and kicked the two away. Amy and Tails flew into a tree.  
  
Meza laughed as he continued to press Sonic harder in he's hand. "Sonic the Hedgehog will perish!"  
  
"Ah! Let...me...go!" Sonic gasped out.  
  
Meza ignored him, grinning showing awful stone teeth. "I will not do that, puny hedgehog!" He lifted Sonic towards his mouth, ready to fest upon the blue hedgehog.  
  
Sonic eyes widen as he found himself getting closer and closer to the demon's hungry mouth, 'Oh no...' He tried harder to break free from his grasped but it wasn't working. Just when he was about to give up, the demon let out a bone chilling yell before falling towards the ground, releasing Sonic. Sonic fell from his hands, "Ahhh!!" He yelled coming closer towards the ground. Before he made contact, something saved him.  
  
He soon found himself safely on the ground. "What the...?" He asked looking around. He then saw a dark figure wearing ninja clothing (similar to what Rouge wore on Sonic X) attending to Amy and Tails. He rushed over to them, "Are you two alright?"  
  
Amy rubbed her sore head, "Ow...yeah..."  
  
Tails nodded, "I think so..."  
  
Sonic turned to the figure, "Who are you?"  
  
The figure didn't say anything as Meza got back up and roared, the figure turned around and rush towards Meza, daring to fight it. The figure took a fighting stance, Meza laughed, "You dare to challenge me?"  
  
Without saying anything, the figure charged Meza, leaping into the air, jumping on its knee then leaping on it's hip, doing a back flip to where the Master Emerald rested. Meza soon realized what he was going to do and went to smack at him, missing. The figure kicked the emerald causing it to fly from its place on the rock. "NO!" Meza yelled, trying to grab it.  
  
It flew down to where Sonic, Amy, and Tails stood. Tails flew up to the emerald catching it before Meza could lay his hands on it. "Good work, Tails!" Sonic said as Tails came back to his side.  
  
The figure then jumped on top of Meza's head, and punched down with all he's might. Meza let out an aguish scream falling on his knees. He fell flat on the ground causing it to shake slightly. Once the shaking stop, Meza lied motionless and soon his body evaporated. Standing where Meza once was stood the mysterious figure that saved them from the monster.  
  
Sonic went to his side, "Whoa, thanks dude. But who are you?"  
  
The figure took off its hood to reveal himself as a...her? A female cat with yellow eyes stared at Sonic with a smirk.  
  
Sonic blinked, "You mean, I was saved by a...a...female?! Who are you?"  
  
The cat bowed, "My name is Kevana. I was sent to follow you."  
  
Sonic crossed his arms, "By whom?"  
  
Kevana turned away, "My employer's name is of no concern to you."  
  
Tails nodded, "Thanks for helping us, though! And we got back the Master Emerald! Now all we have to do is find Knuckles and get Joya de la Luz!" Kevana headed into the direction where Knuckles and Tarosamo had travel.  
  
Amy grinned, "Let's get going and hope we don't run into anymore demons!" She grabbed Sonic and went after the two.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
*camera points to her* Huh? I'm on camera? Oh! Hi mom! Hi Niagera! Hi Syed! Hi E2! Hi everyone! Hi Broderick who owes me money! ^_^ Anyhow, I like to thank everyone who has been reviewing my story! You each get nice home-made fresh yummy cookies! *hands everyone a cookie* Hope you like it as well as this fic! Next chapter won't take too long...I hope...*grins and wave at everyone as they REVIEW...j/k.* 


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17  
  
"So, this is it, huh?" Knuckles asked as his voice boomed throughout a large hollow room.  
  
Chenoa flew in circles, "Yes, the chamber is straight down that hall." She flew down the hall until she got to a large gold platted door with the symbol of a dragon on it and some ancient writing.  
  
Knuckles looked at the large door and placed a knuckle on it, "So, this is where they keep that jewel?"  
  
Tarosamo nodded as he looked at the ancient writing, "They who enter shall perish as the light touches thy and the beast be awaken?"  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Typical how nothing seems to go off easy. How do we enter?"  
  
The other echidna shrugged as he read on, "To enter thy sacred chamber, the beast must look the opposite way?"  
  
"What does that mean?" Knuckles asked, crossing his arms.  
  
Tarosamo thought for a moment, "Maybe..." He placed his head on the 3-D head of the dragon, finding it to be slightly loose. He twisted it slowly until it was turned upside down. A click was heard as the gold platted door slid open. Tarosamo and Knuckles took a step back as the door fully opened. They glanced at each other and then slowly waked into a dark, eerie room. A slight mysterious melodious hum could be heard throughout the room, they paid it no mind as they proceed to enter with caution.  
  
Chenoa flew over their heads, "Be careful, a great beast slumbers within this chamber."  
  
Knuckles sighed, "Tell us something we don't know."  
  
Before anyone else could say anything, they spotted something in the center of the room. It was Joya de la Luz in all its glory. A white beam of light shone on it from the ceiling. The jewel itself was a bright white color as it magnificently glimmers in the light.  
  
Knuckles was amazed, "So, that's the jewel we've been searching for?"  
  
Tarosamo smirked, "I believe so, Knuckles." They took a step forward until a loud screeching sound was heard. Covering their ears they looked around for the source of the noise. In the dark room, they could see large glaring red eyes.  
  
"What the...what is that?!" Knuckles asked, readying his self into a fighting position.  
  
Chenoa flew down to the ground, "That is Volcano, the guardian of the Light Jewel."  
  
"Volcano? What kind of name is that?" Knuckles asked, looking at the bright deadly eyes of the beast.  
  
"It was said that Volcano a raised from the pit of a deadly volcano a millennia ago. An ancient race sealed him away long ago inside this very chamber to protect the jewel you see before you." Chenoa explained, "And now, he has awakened."  
  
Suddenly, the beast whole body could be seen and he was made completely out of melted lava (like Hornrista, I have a weird fascination with fire, don't ask...). It was at least 100 (or maybe more so) feet long, from head to its long and deadly tail. Hot roaring flames sprouted everywhere on its body, glowing malicious. It roared and hot flames flew from its mouth, nearly scorching the two echidnas and the bird.  
  
Knuckles growled, "How can we defeat this thing if we can't even touch it?!"  
  
Tarosamo thought for a moment again, "Knuckles, I want you to grab that jewel. Chenoa, show Knuckles the way to the Underworld." He ordered them. "I'll keep this beast busy."  
  
Knuckles looked at Tarosamo as if he was crazy, "What? You'll be killed! You can't defeat it by yourself!"  
  
Tarosamo shook his head, "I can handle it, you have to go and save Rouge before it is too late, now, Chenoa! Take him there!" Tarosamo turned back to the beast, drawing his long sword.  
  
Chenoa flew over to the jewel, "Knuckles, quick!"  
  
Knuckles took one last look at Tarosamo before running to the jewel, he lifted it up. The power automatically started to surge through his entire being, creating a shockwave within himself. "What's...happening?" The jewel started to glow a blinding white, engulfing the red echidna.  
  
"The jewel's power is your own now. With this power, you can travel in and out of the Underworld. This jewel has chosen you to be its carrier. The power you now process will rival that of Sameo's own power. Be careful, echidna." Chenoa said as she flew in circles around Knuckles creating a whirlwind of light. Knuckles covered his eyes as the brightness of the light became too intense. He still held into the jewel as his body started to feel disoriented. Then a burst of light flashed through the entire room and Knuckles was gone.  
  
"Whoa! What was that?" Sonic exclaimed as he witness the bright light that illuminated a little further away from where his group stood.  
  
Tails flew into the air, "Maybe they found the jewel! Come on, guys!" He quickly flew off into the direction where the bright radiance came from.  
  
Sonic grab a hold of Amy and quickly zoom after the flying fox. Kevana nodded her head in thought as she leaped into the trees, tree hoping behind them, keeping speed.  
  
Tarosamo was knocked against a wall, still clutching his sword. He grunted, picking himself up. Volcano roared, forming a large beam of fire from its mouth, and shooting it at Tarosamo. Tarosamo growled, finding that he couldn't move quickly enough. He stabbed his sword into the ground, creating a barrier. The flames surrounded him, but the power of his sword protected him from harm. Once the flames dissolved, he allowed the shield to dropped, panting heavily. That shield alone took a lot out of him.  
  
Volcano flew up into the air, spinning around slightly before diving back down to Tarosamo. The echidna, as fast his he could, jumped out of the way, causing the beast to crash into the ground. It smacked its fiery tail at Tarosamo, hitting him. The echidna let out a gruesome yelled as the flames eat at him. He was knocked into a wall, covered in sweat and blood. He was too weak to get up now, he sighed in defeat.  
  
The beast turned around, growling at the echidna, showing off its large fangs. It crept closer to Tarosamo, ready to fest upon its powerful meal. Tarosamo looked up through half close eyelids, and smirked, 'Looks like my time has finally arrived...how ironic.'  
  
Knuckles reopened his eyes to find himself inside of a large, dark, and deadly room. The smell of death filled his nostrils, as he looked around, "Is this...Sameo's lair?" He looked at the glowing jewel he held in his arms and tuck it away someone on his person (It's that subspace pocket again, I'm telling you, it do wonders!). He wandered around the dark room in search of something. Maybe Sameo, maybe Rouge, all he knew was that he needed to find something, or someone. He took out the jewel to have another look at it.  
  
He then traveled around, noticing the freakish designs drawn on the walls. They were of many different things, demons fighting demons, dragons, the fiery pit of hell, but there was one that caught the echidna's attention that stood out from all else. Curiously, he traveled over to that particular drawing and ran a hand across it. It was a picture of a...goddess; it seems, with devilish like wings. Her back was arched and her hair flowed in waves. But what really caught his attention was the man that held his sword down at her. In fact, it wasn't a man, but a...echidna. His eyes were emotionless as he stared down at the beautiful creature with wings, his sword pointed downwards at her throat. He also took note of the sword, which oddly enough look like his own...He glanced down at the sword he rarely use, wondering why he has it in the first place.  
  
"Ah, lovely drawing, is it not?" A cold, dark voice said from behind him. Knuckles spun around to see Sameo smirking at him with the dark jewel around his neck. The jewel of light started to pulsate, sending off another ray of light.  
  
"What?" Knuckles asked confused as he held the pulsating jewel.  
  
The same thing started to happen with the dark jewel, glowing off a black light. Sameo smirked, "It seems that the two brothers would like to be reunited, Knuckles the Echidna. Hand over the jewel."  
  
Knuckles growled, "No." He said simply and firmly.  
  
Sameo shrugged, "Why must you do things the hard way? If you want give it to me, than you leave me with no choice but to take it by force!"  
  
Knuckles growled as he once again tucked the jewel away, "I like to see you try, demon!"  
  
"Oh, I will, but first, how about saying a few final words to that lovely bat-girl?" Sameo smirked at the expression on Knuckles face. Sameo snapped his long scaly fingers. Rouge then appeared in the room.  
  
"Rouge!" Knuckles yelled to her.  
  
Rouge opened her eyes to see the red echidna, "Knuckles!"  
  
Sameo rolled his eyes, "I believe that we all already know each other by now." He smirked, "You, sweetheart, are going to witness the death of your boyfriend, but you won't have long to mope as you will soon join him."  
  
Rouge growled, "You monster! Have you no heart?"  
  
Sameo looked at her incredulous, "I'm a demon, of course I have no heart!" He growled as he threw Rouge towards a wall and automatically skeleton like arms grabbed her and tightly held her to the wall as she struggle to break free.  
  
"Rouge!" Knuckles yelled again, ready to run toward her.  
  
"AH!" Rouge yelled in pain as the claws of the skeleton hand broke through her flesh.  
  
Sameo smirked, "The harder you struggle, the deeper those claws dig, princess."  
  
Knuckles glared at the dragon, rage burning within the depths of his purple orbs, "Release her, now." He said as calmly as he could, ready to rip Sameo limp from limp.  
  
Sameo chuckled, "Hand over the jewel, and I may consider, echidna."  
  
Before Knuckles could reply a bright light flew into the room, forming into a small white ball made of light. It circled around Knuckles as he looked on confused, and then it begins to speak to him, as if telepathically (almost like Tikal), 'Knuckles, you must not give Sameo the Jewel. If he held procession of both jewels, your world, as we know, will be doom.'  
  
Knuckles looked at the blinding light confused, "Chenoa? If I don't give him the jewel, he'll kill Rouge!"  
  
The light stopped circling him and stared directing into his face, causing the echidna to lightly shield his eyes, 'You must fight. I have faith in you. Rouge has faith in you. Do you?' And with that said, the light flew towards the ceiling, disappearing. The jewel once again found its place in his hands.  
  
Sameo laughed, "Taking advice from a ball of light? I would of thought better of you, echidna."  
  
Knuckles narrowed his eyes at Sameo. He was ready. He was going to show this demon what he's made of; he'll destroyer Sameo, and come out as the victor. But he knew this battle wasn't going to be easy. He took one last glimpse at the bat hanging on the wall, and his blood started to boil. He turned to Sameo, and smirked, a new air of confidence surrounded him, and the demon lord was a little taken back by the new array in attitude.  
  
Sameo laughed again, "You can't handle me, echidna!"  
  
Both jewels, at the same time, blazed a brilliant bright light; one white, the other black. The two glows then burst at each other, pushing the holders back slightly. As the lights touch it created a large shockwave, pushing pass the other. The wind around them picked up heavily, blowing many things around, brushing against the three figures within the room.  
  
Then all was silent as the two glared each other down, Sameo smirked, as did Knuckles, and with a yell, they charged full force at the other.  
  
My, what's gonna happen next? The final showdown is about to go underway! 


	18. Chapter 18

Last Chapter! Wow, I like to say that I'm sorry for the wait. I've been having one major writer's block. But here's the next chapter! ENJOY! And REVIEW!!!

**Chapter 18**

Sonic sped through the jungle, dragging the pink hedgehog along with him, running pass the flying Tails. Branches and leaves brush against him as he made his way through to the chamber where he was sure that Knuckles would be at. He finally came to a halt once he reached the ruins. "This is where Knux went?" He asked, looking around.

Tails landed next to him, panting slightly. "I…guess…so…" he said gasping for air.

Kevana jumped from the trees landing to Tails right, startling him. She stood up, looking around with an emotionless glaze. "So this is Avalon Sacred Chamber? Lets move."

The four rushed inside the chamber and through its many corridors until they came to an open door. Peering inside, they took notice of a large fiery beast attacking a center echidna relentlessly. Upon further inspection, Knuckles couldn't be found anywhere.

Sonic raced over to Tarosamo, "Yo! Taro! What's up with that beast?!"

Volcano growled at Sonic for interrupting his meal. He roared, throwing a large fire ball at the blue hedgehog.

"Sonic!" Amy cried, wanting to run to her blue hero.

Sonic quickly ran out of the way as the large fire ball crashed into a wall, sending flames everywhere, "Ha! Missed me!" He taunted before turning back to Amy and the rest, "You three get out of here while I'll help Taro!" Amy was about to protest when Volcano spit out another fire ball in their direction.

Tails grabbed Amy and ran out of the chamber following close behind Kevana. "Sonic!" Amy yelled, trying to resist Tails pull.

Sonic ignored her and turned to a near dead Tarosamo. "Hey, man, you okay?" He went over to the echidna's side and help him up.

Tarosamo rolled his eyes, "What does it look like?" He said without any humor in his voce.

Sonic grinned, "Well, if you ask me, I'd say—" He was cut off as the fiery beast swung his tail at the two. Sonic quickly jumped out of the way with little trouble holding up the slightly taller echidna. "What is that thing, anyway?" He asked as they narrowly missed another blast from the beast.

Tarosamo groan in pain as Sonic landed on the ground, "That is…Volcano, protected of the...Light Jewel."

Sonic nodded, dodging around attack from Volcano, keeping a firm hold on Tarosamo. "Where's Knuckles?"

It took a moment before Tarosamo could respond considering all the pain he had to endure before Sonic showed up, "…He went to sought out Sameo…in the underworld."

"He left already?" Sonic shook his head, "How do we defeat this creep?"

Tarosamo sighed, "Honestly, I have no idea." He grabbed his shoulder as a horrid pain seared through it.

Sonic growled, "Great. Lets just get out of here and hope that beast doesn't follow us." He zoomed pass the beast before Volcano had a chance to stop them. Sonic ran out the door, still holding onto his friend. Once they made it out, Sonic stopped to let go of Tarosamo, "Man, for an echidna, you sure are heavy." He smirked.

Tarosamo ignored him and quickly pushed the gold plated door shut to stop it from getting out. He had a difficult time shutting the door due to the irritation of the wounds he'd acquired. The door slammed shut just as the beast was about to go at them. Tarosamo slid down, clutching his wounded arm.

Sonic glanced at him, "So, what's going to happen to Knuckles?"

Tarosamo opened his mouth to speak when he was suddenly cut off by a voice, "Sonikku!" Amy ran to Sonic and gave him one of her death hugs, "I'm so glad that you're okay!" Tails and Kevana ran over to the small group.

Kevana smirked at Tarosamo, crossing her arms, "Long time no see, echidna."

Tarosamo stood up, holding the wall for support, "Hello, **_Kevana_**." He said with bitterness evident in his voice as he said her name.

Sonic scratch the back of his head, "You two know each other?"

The black and pale blue echidna limped pass them, "Unfortunately." He muttered making his way out of the place.

Sonic raised an eyebrow as he looked at Kevana, "Old girlfriend?"

The cat smirked never left her, "You could say that."

Rouge shield her eyes as the light from the two jewels became too intense. After a long moment, the light faded, and the bat could clearing see the two figures once her eyes readjusted.

Knuckles and Sameo stared each other down, or in Knuckles case, stared up at Sameo. Sameo eyes were glowing white with hatred as the black jewel clung around his neck. Tension built up in the room, clogging the air. Bolts of lightning flash around the room giving it a chilling frightening aurora. Then, suddenly, both Sameo and Knuckles let out one last battle cry before charging at the other.

Sameo grabbed the dark jewel from around his neck, and pulled it off, aiming it at the approaching echidna. Knuckles noticed and did the same with his jewel. Both jewels let out a beam of light. One black and one white light slammed into the other, forcing both back slightly.

Sweat poured from Knuckles as he held his ground. Sameo was indeed stronger then he was, but he wouldn't allow that to beat him. He was the only hope for the future now. Everyone depended on him, he will defeat Sameo! …He hoped, anyway.

Sameo smirked as he forced more strength into his jewel, "Ha! You can't win, echidna! When will you give up?!"

Knuckles growled, being pushed back an inch, but also forced more energy in the jewel and a burst went through, sliding Sameo back, "If there's one thing I've learn, that's never to give up!"

Sameo growled as well, and in one swift movement, he dodged to the side allowing the beam of white light to collide with the solid wall, creating a large crater. The dragon smirked as he swung his long tail around to smack the Light jewel from Knuckles hands. The jewel went flying into another wall, nearby Rouge.

Knuckles watched as the jewel flew from his hands but before he could make a run for it, Sameo swung his tail again, hitting the echidna head on. Knuckles let out a shout of pain as he too went into a wall. He slide down and spat out some blood, wiping his cut lip. A long gash was visible over his right eyebrow as blood tingled down the side of his face. Dragon tails aren't something to be taken lightly.

Sameo laughed as he aimed his jewel at the fallen echidna, ready to dealt the finishing blow. "Such a shame, echidna, I was beginning to like you."

Knuckles slowly got to his feet, glaring daggers at the taller creature. He looked over at the jewel which was opposite of where he know stood. He couldn't get it, not with Sameo in his way. He cursed under his breath at his misfortune and sighed. Now what was he going to do?

Same eyes glowed with malice as his smirked became more crueler. "Say goodbye, echidna!" And with that, he shot a dark beam towards the echidna.

Knuckles didn't had enough time to get out of the way as the beam of dark energy headed towards him at a blinding speed. Knuckles closed his eyes, knowing that he had failed. There was nothing he could do now, but to embrace death. 'I'm sorry, everyone. Rouge…I love you…' He waited for the pain to come when he heard a startle cry and opened his eyes to see a blinding white light smash into the Jewel of Darkness, sending it off curse. His eyes widen as he stared at the one holding the jewel.

Rouge grinned weakly as blood matted into her once white fur, the jewel held in both hands, aimed at it's twin, sending it flying from Sameo's hands and onto the floor. It bounced a few times before coming to a slow roll and falling through a crack in the floor.

"NO! What have you done?! You filthy bat!" He glared evil eyes at Rouge, "How did you escape?!"

Rouge coughed, wiping some blood from her lip, "I have my ways." She smirked and rushed over to Knuckles.

Knuckles stared at her for a moment before taking the jewel and throwing it down the same crack the dark jewel fell down.

"You're pay for your insolence, you disgusting mammals! I'll kill you and eat you for breakfast!" Sameo charged at the two, ready to kill.

Knuckles stood in front of Rouge, protecting her best he could from the charging dragon, but before Sameo could reach them, his whole domain started to rumble, knocking Rouge and Knuckles off their feet.

"What's happening?" Rouge asked as the ceiling started to collapsed and the floor beneath them started to cave in.

Then, two lights, one white and one black, shot up from the ground and engulfed Sameo, "What?! What's going on here?!" The demon lord demanded as both lights surrounded him, lifting him from the ground. Rouge and Knuckles shield their eyes as the two lights became intense and spun around the demon, creating a whirlwind. Sameo let out a loud, roaring yell and then disappeared.

The two furries stared in shock at the spot Sameo once was. The place continued to rumble and collapse with them still trapped inside. "How do we get out of here?!" Rouge asked over the loud noise.

A bright ball of white light than came in front of them, "Rouge, Knuckles, you had defeat the fearsome creature known as Sameo and now his lair is falling. I shall lead you out of here." It was Chenoa, formed in her little ball of white light.

Knuckles nodded but Rouge shook her head, "We can't leave yet!"

Knuckles gave her a look of incredulous, "Why not?! We need to get out of here!"

"We can't leave without Slice and Black Light!" Rouge said, quickly looking around.

"We're here!" Came a voice from the other end of the falling room. All three turned around to see Slice and her panther friend, Black Light.

Slice grinned at her sister with one arm swung around Black Light for support, "I didn't think you'd care, Rouge."

Rouge rolled her eyes as she, Knuckles, and Chenoa rushed over to the two sides, "Don't push your luck, sister."

As they were about ready to leave, the floor underneath Rouge crumbled, "Ahh!" She screamed, reaching a hand out, she would fly out if it wasn't for the fact that her wing was broken. "Knuckles!" She cried as Knuckles reached out a hand to save her.

"Rouge! I got you, hold on!" Knuckles grunted as he pulled her up from her uncertain doomed. Looking down in the bottomless pit set a chill down his spine. There was no end to it. Knuckles held her in a hug. "Are you alright?"

Rouge smiled, "What do you think? Besides almost getting killed today, I'd say I'm actually pretty good."

Knuckles nodded, "Good." He looked up to the floating light, "Chenoa, get us outta here."

Chenoa hovered up and down before spinning around the group of four, creating a tornado of light. She begin to pick up speed with each turned she made until she was at a speed which would envy ever Sonic. Then, they were gone.

Sonic paced around the green surrounding where he, Tails, Amy, Tarosamo, and Kevana waited for the arrival of Knuckles and Rouge. He let out an impatient sighed, "Man, where are they?"

Tails sat on the ground, bored, "Do you think that they are okay, Tarosamo?" He looked at the injured echidna.

Tarosamo nodded, deep in thought, "I believe that Knuckles will defeat that monstrous being Sameo."

Amy grinned, "Of course! Good guys always win!" She looked up at Sonic who blushed under her glaze. He didn't understand why she made him feel this way, but she did.

Any further conversation was cut short as a blinding light suddenly occurred and they all turned away from it until it cleared. Once it cleared, the group turned back around to see four other figures.

Amy jumped up in excitement, "You made it!" She hugged them then jumped back and looked at Rouge and Knuckles, "You two need a bath, and you're hurt!"

Rouge smiled, "Its fine, nothing to worry about."

Sonic walked up to them, "So, how'd it go? What happened to Sameo?"

Knuckles shrugged, "He was engulf by two lights and then disappeared."

"He was sealed away again." Tarosamo spoke as he made his way to them.

Tails rushed up to them, "So, is it over? We can all go home now?"

Tarosamo nodded, "Yes, we can go home now…"

Tails jumped, "Yes!" Then he paused and turned to the newest characters, "Um, who are you?" He asked, looking at the bat and panther.

Rouge grinned, "This is my sister Slice and…uh, Black Light." She introduced them.

Slice smiled slightly, happy to have finally got away from that creep Sameo, "Hello, there, kid."

Tails blushed, "My name's Tails."

"I can see why." She said, glancing at his two tails.

"Alright, alright, can we go now?!" Sonic asked, obviously impatient.

Chenoa smiled at them as she flew away, "Farewell friends. May you still safe." Everyone waved at the bird as she departed.

"Finally, I can have some chilidogs!" Sonic grinned, leading the way.

Everyone laughed, thankful that now, they could finally go home and rest. Tails handed Knuckles the Master Emerald and Knuckles placed the Master Emerald back on the shrine where he hope it'll still there undisturbed for the rest of eternity.

Two Years Later

A lot really hadn't happen in the last two years. Rouge and Knuckles stayed together and until recently, he had finally popped the question and Rouge was more then happy to accept. The wedding was nice and small with friends and family attaining. For their honeymoon, they decided to head to Paris. Who would've seen that one coming?

Sonic finally confessed his feelings to a certain pink hedgehog and the two are currently going out and it wouldn't be long before the blue blur would finally pop the question.

Tails is still Tails, also working on his plans and inventions. Nothing new there, though he is showing a little interest in one certain rabbit.

Slice and Rouge finally decided to become a family again and Slice visits Rouge every chance she can now that they had settle their differences. Also Slice and Black Light had both fallen madly in love and guess what; they are expecting their first child soon! (Eh, Banther? Bat/Panther? Gosh…weird…)

And Tarosamo…he resides on Angel Island along with Rouge and Knuckles and serves as a guardian, protecting the two in any way he can, though he does know that they are quite capable of defending themselves, but he grew attach to them to leave them now.

And as for Kevana, she disappeared again, still remaining a mystery.

Everyone lives happily ever after…Except one…

In a galaxy, far, far, far away from the one known as the Milky Way, a maniacal laughter was heard, traveling through space, "Soon, echidna, soon!"

FIN 

Well, that's it for EQ. It was my best story ever. Oh, you all think there's a sequel coming, huh? Who knows? I'm thinking of stopping the fanfic bizz. I don't know, what do you all think? Well, this is probably my last story, anyway. Who knows? Maybe I'll surprise you, stay on the lookout!

That's it for now, please, review! Thanks!

Special thanks to all who reviewed my story, without you, I wouldn't have a story! Thanks all, you know who you are! Much love, bye!


End file.
